Cucurbita pedatifolia explained

Cucurbita pedatifolia is a xerophyte plant species of the genus Cucurbita.^[1] ^[2] It is native to Querétaro, Mexico. It has not been domesticated. While C. pedatifolia has been cross bred, results have met with limited success.^[3] It does not cross well with other species of Cucurbita.^[4] It is a close relative of Cucurbita radicans. Geographic location and genetics make it highly likely that Cucurbita scabridifolia is a naturally occurring hybrid of Cucurbita foetidissima and C. pedatifolia.^[5] It also has some mesophyte traits may represent a transitional state between the mesophytic Cucurbita and the xerophytic Cucurbita.^[6]

The species was formally described by Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1943, in Gentes Herbarum. Cucurbita moorei was at one time described as a separate species native to the vicinity of Ixmiquilpan, Mexico within Cucurbita, but now is considered a synonym for C. pedatifolia.

Cucurbita pedatifolia was first formally described by Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1948, in Gentes Herbarum.

Notes and References

Bailey. Liberty Hyde. Liberty Hyde Bailey . Gentes Herbarum. Ithaca, NY. 6. 267–322. 1943. Species of Cucurbita.
Nee . Michael . 1990 . The Domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae) . . 44 . 3, Supplement: New Perspectives on the Origin and Evolution of New World Domesticated Plants . 56–68 . New York Botanical Gardens Press . New York . 4255271.
Andres. Thomas C.. 1987. Hybridization of Cucurbita foetidissima with C. pedatifolia C. radicans, and C. ficifolia. Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report. North Carolina State University. Raleigh, NC. 10. 72–73.
Web site: Cucurbits. Purdue University. September 5, 2013.
Andres. Thomas C.. 1987. Relationship of Cucurbita scabridifolia to C. foetidissima and C. pedatifolia: A Case of Natural Interspecific Hybridization. Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report. North Carolina State University. Raleigh, NC. 10. 74–75.
Bemis . W. P. . Whitaker . Thomas W. . Thomas W. Whitaker . April 1969 . The Xerophytic Cucurbita of Northwestern Mexico and Southwestern United States . . 20 . 2 . 33–41 . California Botanical Society . 41423342.