Description:

This is a group of popular, annual climbing or trailing plants that belong to the Cucumber family, Cucurbitaceae. The first one that will be described is the Pumpkin.

No Halloween or Thanksgiving would be complete without the beautiful, glowing orange Pumpkins that signal the harvest season and the drawing near of winter. Two different varieties will be described below; C. pepo, the popular small- to medium-size Pumpkins that are used to make jack-o'-lanterns or pies, and C. maxima, which is really a giant variety of winter Squash usually grown for the "Biggest Pumpkin" contests.

C. pepo (Pumpkin) - Jack-o'-lantern and sugar Pumpkins grow on sprawling, prostrate vines with prickly stems and leafstalks and huge, lobed, triangular leaves. These Pumpkins are closely related to several kinds of Squash. The usually weigh from 2 to 20 pounds, rarely more. Some miniature varieties only weigh 1 or 2 pounds. Besides those being grown for decoration or for their edible flesh, are "naked-seeded" varieties, which have hull-less, edible seeds.

C. maxima (Mammoth Pumpkin) - These Pumpkins are closely related to Hubbard and other winter Squashes. The prostrate, annual vines are clothed with blunt, round or heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. The fruits are huge and pinkish-orange or grayish and usually pear-shaped, often bulging where they touch the ground.

Squashes are generally divided into two groups. One group is the Summer Squash, which have soft skins and are eaten when young. The other group is the Winter Squash; these can be stored in the winter because they have hard, protective shells. These are all warm-weather, annual vines with large, lobed foliage and yellow blossoms.

Summer Squash (C. pepo) - There is a wide variety of shapes and sizes in this group. Included are the following:
Smooth, yellow straightnecks;  warty,  yellow crooknecks;  slender,  medium to dark green,  club-shaped Zucchini with golden-yellow varieties;  smooth-skinned variously shaped fruits called vegetable marrows;  and white or green,  top- or disk-shaped scallop or patty pan Squashes with scalloped rims. Their isn't much difference in the flavors of the varieties, but there is some difference in the texture of the cooked flesh. Vegetable marrows are eaten, often along with the blossoms, when very young.



Winter Squash (C. pepo, c. maxima   C. moschata) - The 3 species in this group cover a large range of sizes, shapes and flavors.
C. maxima has large, long, Banana Squashes in pink, bluish gray or orange.
Buttercup is medium-sized, dark green, drum- or top-shaped, and blotched with gray.

Boston marrow may be medium to large, bulbous, orange-skinned and shaped like a teardrop.

Turk's turban has green, turban-shaped fruits that are brightly striped with red, white, or orange and a "naval" at the blossom end.

Hubbard is medium-sized, green, blue-gray, or golden, with bumpy skin.

C. moschata includes the tan-skinned Butternut Squash, these are long, cylindrical fruits with a bulbous base and orange interior.

Cushaws resemble large, striped Butternut Squash with curved necks.

C. pepo includes the small- to medium-sized Acorn Squash, which are deeply ribbed, dark green or golden colored. The Vegetable Spaghetti Squash also belongs to this group. These oval, smooth fruits are ivory to golden-yellow colored and their flesh cooks to spaghetti-like strands.

Calabaza - Pumpkin Plant Link

Properties of Pumpkin used by Aztecs

Useful in Fighting:  Worms,  Tapeworm,  Hemorrhoids,  Nervousness and Used as a Cerebral Tonic.

Aztec Method of Use

To obtain the best results in the expulsion of tapeworms and worms,
The ill patient must not eat for 24 hours,
then before bed take a laxative of 30 grams of Castor oil;
the following day, grind 30 grams of Pumpkin seeds without the husks or shell,
sweeten with sugar to taste, and eat with a half glass of milk.
After 2 hours, take another laxative made with 30 grams of Castor oil or sodium sulfate.
Some therapists recommend dividing the treatment into 2 days,
the first, on an empty stomach, take 50 grams of Pumpkin seeds husked,
grounded up and sweetened, with a glass of milk;
the following day the same but add a dose of 40 grams of Castor oil.

In case you do not get satisfactory results, repeat the operation but

Only After 2(two) Months Have Passed.

Still on the subject of tapeworm and worms,  some people prefer to prepare an orgeat using 100 grams of Pumpkin seeds, whole, 5 grams of fresh apple mint, and 1 quart of cold milk and brown sugar or bee honey to taste. Liquefy the ingredients in a blender and drink daily in the morning instead of a breakfast, do this for 3 days and on the last day, 1 hour after dose has been taken, ingest a laxative of 60 grams of Castor oil.