Crookneck squash explained

Cucurbita pepo 'Yellow crookneck'
Species:	Cucurbita pepo
Cultivar:	Yellow crookneck
Origin:	Eastern North America

Crookneck squash, also known as yellow squash, is a cultivar of Cucurbita pepo,^[1] the species that also includes some pumpkins and most other summer squashes. The plants are bushy and do not spread like the plants of winter squash and pumpkin.^[2] Most often used as a summer squash, it is characterized by its yellow skin (which may be smooth or bumpy) and sweet yellow flesh, as well as its distinctive curved stem-end or "crooked neck".^[3] It should not be confused with crookneck cultivars of Cucurbita moschata, such as the winter squash 'Golden Cushaw',^[4] or the vining summer squash 'Tromboncino'. Its name distinguishes it from another similar-looking variety of C. pepo, the straightneck squash, which is also usually yellow.^{[5] [6] [7]} There is one similar non-edible C. pepo variety: C. pepo var. ovifera.^[8]

Yellow crookneck squash are generally harvested immature, when they are less than two inches in diameter, since the skin toughens and the quality degrades as the squash reaches full maturity.^[9]

External links

• • National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

Notes and References

1. Web site: Zucchetta . Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center: Vegetable Research and Extension. Washington State University. 10 May 2013.
2. Web site: Summer Squash. Watch Your Garden Grow. University of Illinois Extension. 14 May 2013.
3. Web site: Summer Squash. University of the District of Columbia Cooperative Extension Service. 14 May 2013.
4. Book: Phillips, R. . Rix, M. . 1993. Vegetables. Random House. New York.
5. Web site: Saade . R. Lira . Hernández . S. Montes . Cucurbits . Purdue Horticulture . September 2, 2013.
6. Web site: Cucurbita pepo . Missouri Botanical Garden . September 2, 2013.
7. Book: Heistinger, Andrea . The Manual of Seed Saving: Harvesting, Storing, and Sowing Techniques for Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits . Timber Press . Portland, OR. 2013 . 278 . 978-1-60469-382-9.
8. Decker . Deena S. . Wilson . Hugh D. . 1987 . Allozyme Variation in the Cucurbita pepo Complex: C. pepo var. ovifera vs. C. texana . . 12 . 2 . 263–273 . American Society of Plant Taxonomists . 2419320 . 10.2307/2419320.
9. Web site: Summer and Winter Squash. Utah State University Cooperative Extension. 14 May 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130610004852/http://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/htm/vegetables_herbs/summer-and-winter-squash. 10 June 2013.