Cucurbita ecuadorensis | |
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Mature fruit and cut showing pulp and seeds. | |
Conservation status
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Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Cucurbitales |
Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
Genus: | Cucurbita |
Species: | C. ecuadorensis
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Binomial name | |
Cucurbita ecuadorensis H.C.Cutler & Whitaker[1][2]
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Cucurbita ecuadorensis is a species of squash, described in 1965 as growing wild in Ecuador.[3] Like most wild gourds and squashes, it is a creeping vine and is often found climbing over other vegetation.[1] It has been found only in the western provinces of Guayas and Manabí.[4] There is evidence that it was domesticated in Ecuador around 10,000 years ago, likely for its seeds, but no direct records exist and it is no longer cultivated.[5] It is resistant to many diseases of cultivated Cucurbita species,[6] and has been used to breed resistance to several diseases into common squashes.[7] For example, researchers at Cornell University used Cucurbita ecuadorensis to breed resistance to papaya ringspot virus, watermelon mosaic virus, and powdery mildew, into common Cucurbita maxima cultivars.[7] Cucurbita ecuadorensis is listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable,[1] and is found protected in the Machalilla National Park.[1]