Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita

Cucurbita

Cucurbita is a genus in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae first cultivated in Mesoamerica and now used in many parts of the world. It includes species grown for their fruit and edible seeds , as well as some species grown only as gourds...

, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. These species include C. maxima

Cucurbita maxima

Cucurbita maxima, one of at least five species of cultivated squash, is one of the most diverse domesticated species, perhaps with more cultivated forms than any other crop. This species originated in South America from the wild C. maxima ssp. andreana over 4000 years ago...

(hubbard squash, buttercup squash, some varieties of prize pumpkins, such as Big Max), C. mixta

Cucurbita mixta

Cucurbita mixta aka pipian is a species of squash, sometimes known as the cushaw pumpkin. C. mixta is one of the common varieties of pumpkin cultivated in the United States. The plant's adaptation to warm climates and resistance to squash borers make it very competitive in the agricultural industry...

(cushaw squash), C. moschata

Cucurbita moschata

Cucurbita moschata is a species originating in either Central America or northern South America. It includes varieties of squash and pumpkin. C. moschata varieties are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than C. maxima or C. pepo. They also generally display a greater...

(butternut squash), and C. pepo

Cucurbita pepo

The species Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It includes varieties of squash, gourd, and pumpkin.*Acorn squash*Delicata squash*Dodi marrow, grown in South Asia*Gem squash*Heart of gold squash*Pattypan squash...

(most pumpkin

Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...

s, acorn squash, summer squash, zucchini

Zucchini

The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...

). In North America, squash is loosely grouped into summer squash

Summer Squash

Summer squash are a subset of squashes that are harvested when immature . All summer squashes are the fruits of the species Cucurbita pepo , but they are considered vegetables in terms of culinary use...

 or winter squash

Winter squash

Winter squash is a summer-growing annual vegetable, representing several species within the genus Cucurbita. It differs from summer squash in that it is harvested and eaten in the mature fruit stage, when the seeds within have matured fully and the skin has hardened into a tough rind. At this...

, depending on whether they are harvested as immature fruit (summer squash) or mature fruit (autumn squash or winter squash). Gourd

Gourd

A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...

s are from the same family as squashes. Well known types of squash include the pumpkin and zucchini. Giant squash are derived from Cucurbita maxima and are routinely grown to weights nearing those of giant pumpkins. For more details, refer to list of gourds and squashes.

Cultivation

Archaeological evidence suggests squash may have been first cultivated in Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...

 some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, and may have been independently cultivated elsewhere at a later date. Squash was one of the "Three Sisters

Three Sisters (agriculture)

The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans ....

" planted by Native Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

. The Three Sisters were the three main native crop plants: maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 (corn), beans, and squash. These were usually planted together, with the cornstalk providing support for the climbing beans, and shade for the squash. The squash vines provided ground cover to limit weeds. Weeds can be detrimental to the growing conditions of the squash. The beans provided nitrogen fixing for all three crops.

Summer squashes, including zucchini

Zucchini

The zucchini is a summer squash which often grows to nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. It is a hybrid of the cucumber. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Zucchini can be dark or light green...

 (also known as courgette), pattypan

Pattypan squash

Pattypan squash, sunburst squash, cibleme in Cajun French and French, white squash, scallopini or button squash in Australian English, is a summer squash notable for its small size, round and shallow shape, and scalloped edges, somewhat resembling a small toy top, or flying saucer...

 and yellow crookneck

Yellow crookneck squash

Yellow crookneck squash is one of many cultivated Cucurbita pepo, the gourd species that includes zucchini and pumpkin. This is a variety of summer squash with bumpy, yellow skin and sweet flesh. Its name distinguishes it from its close relative, the yellow summer squash, which has a straight neck...

 are harvested during the growing season, while the skin is still soft and the fruit rather small; they are eaten almost immediately and require little to no cooking.
Winter squashes (such as butternut

Butternut squash

Butternut squash , also known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin, is a type of winter squash. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It grows on...

, Hubbard, buttercup, ambercup, acorn

Acorn squash

Acorn squash , also called pepper squash or Des Moines squash, is a winter squash with distinctive longitudinal ridges and sweet, yellow-orange flesh...

, spaghetti squash

Spaghetti squash

The spaghetti squash is an oblong seed-bearing variety of winter squash. The fruit can range either from ivory to yellow or orange in color. The orange varieties have a higher carotene content. Its center contains many large seeds...

 and pumpkin

Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...

) are harvested at maturity, generally the end of summer, cured to further harden the skin, and stored in a cool place for eating later. They generally require longer cooking time than summer squashes. (Note: Although the term "winter squash" is used here to differentiate from "summer squash", it is also commonly used as a synonym for Cucurbita maxima.)
The squash fruit is classified as a pepo

Berry

The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....

 by botanists, which is a special type of berry with a thick outer wall or rind formed from hypanthium tissue fused to the exocarp; the fleshy interior is composed of mesocarp and endocarp. The pepo, derived from an inferior ovary, is characteristic of the squash family (Cucurbitaceae). In culinary terms, both summer and winter squashes are generally considered as vegetables, even though pumpkin may be used for sweet dishes.

In addition to the fruit, other parts of the plant are edible. Squash seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s can be eaten directly, ground into paste, meal, "nut" butter, even a fine flour, or (particularly for hulless pumpkins) pressed for vegetable oil (e.g. bottle gourd, buffalo gourd

Buffalo gourd oil

Buffalo gourd oil is a seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the Cucurbita foetidissima, which is native to southwest North America. As the Latin name of the plant indicates, the vine has a foul smell. The seeds of the Buffalo gourd are rich in oil and protein, and were used by American Indians to...

, and pumpkin seed oil

Pumpkin seed oil

Pumpkin seed oil , a culinary specialty of south eastern Austria , eastern Slovenia , north western Croatia Pumpkin seed oil (Kernöl or Kürbiskernöl in German, bučno olje in Slovenian, bučino ulje or bundevino ulje in Croatian, and tökmag-olaj in Hungarian), a culinary specialty of south eastern...

s). The shoot

Shoot

Shoots are new plant growth, they can include stems, flowering stems with flower buds, and leaves. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop...

s, leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

, and tendril

Tendril

In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...

s can be eaten as greens

Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...

. The blossoms are an important part of native American cooking, and are also used in many other parts of the world. Both the male and female blossoms can be harvested pre- or mid-flower.

Pollination

As with all other members of the family, the flowers come in pollen-bearing male form, and the ovary-bearing female form, with both forms being present on the plant. Squash has historically been pollinated by the native North American squash bee

Squash bee

The name Squash bee is applied to two related genera of bees in the tribe Eucerini; Peponapis and Xenoglossa. Both genera are oligoleges on the plant genus Cucurbita and closely related plants...

 Peponapis pruinosa, and related species, but this bee and its relatives have declined, probably due to pesticide sensitivity, and most commercial plantings are pollinated by European honey bee

European honey bee

The Western honey bee or European honey bee is a species of honey bee. The genus Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera comes from Latin melli- "honey" and ferre "to bear"—hence the scientific name means "honey-bearing bee"...

s today. One hive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is recommended by the US Department of Agriculture. Gardeners with a shortage of bees often have to hand pollinate

Hand pollination

Hand pollination is a technique used when natural, or open pollination is insufficient or undesirable. The most common techniques are for crops such as cucurbits, which may exhibit poor pollination by fruit abortion, fruit deformity or poor maturation...

. Giant squash grown competitively are usually hand pollinated. Flowers are kept closed before and after pollination to prevent cross pollination. Inadequately pollinated female squash flowers will usually start growing, but abort before full development. Many gardeners blame various fungal diseases for the aborted fruit, but the fix proves to be better pollination, not fungicide

Fungicide

Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals...

.

Preparation

Though considered a vegetable in cooking

Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

, botanically speaking, squash is a fruit (being the receptacle for the plant's seeds). Squash can be served fresh (in salads) and cooked (squash stuffed with meat, fried squash, baked squash). Small pattypans

Pattypan squash

Pattypan squash, sunburst squash, cibleme in Cajun French and French, white squash, scallopini or button squash in Australian English, is a summer squash notable for its small size, round and shallow shape, and scalloped edges, somewhat resembling a small toy top, or flying saucer...

 are good for pickling.

Etymology

The English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 word "squash" derives from askutasquash (a green thing eaten raw), a word from the Narragansett

Massachusett language

The Massachusett language was a Native American language, a member of the Algonquian language family. It is also known as Wôpanâak , Natick, and Pokanoket....

 language, which was documented by Roger Williams

Roger Williams (theologian)

Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...

, the founder of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

, in his 1643 publication A Key Into the Language of America

A Key Into the Language of America

A Key into the Language of America is a book written by Roger Williams in 1643 describing the Native American languages in New England in the 17th century...

. Similar words for squash exist in related languages of the Algonquian

Algonquian languages

The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...

 family such as Massachusett

Massachusett language

The Massachusett language was a Native American language, a member of the Algonquian language family. It is also known as Wôpanâak , Natick, and Pokanoket....

.

Uses in art

The squash has been an essential crop in the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 since the pre-Columbian

Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

 Era. This pottery was a sacred substance, formed in significant shapes and used to represent important themes. Squash are represented frequently in Moche

Moche

'The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, during the Regional Development Epoch. While this issue is the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state...

ceramics.