Cucurbitaceae

The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera. Those of most agricultural, commercial or nutritional value to humans include: Cucurbita – squash, pumpkin, zucchini (courgette), some gourds. Lagenaria – calabash (bottle gourd) and other, ornamental gourds. Citrullus – watermelon (C. lanatus, C. colocynthis), plus several other species. Cucumis – cucumber (C. sativus); various melons and vines. Momordica – bitter melon. Luffa – commonly called 'luffa' or ‘luffa squash'; sometimes spelled loofah. Young fruits may be cooked; when fully ripened, they become fibrous and unpalatable, thus becoming the source of the loofah scrubbing sponge. Cyclanthera – Caigua. Gerrardanthus — the species G. macrorhizus has gained some popularity as an ornamental caudiciform plant. Xerosicyos — the silver dollar vine (Xerosicyos danguyi) is popular amongst horticulturists and plant collectors. The plants in this family are grown......read more on Wikipedia.