- Cucurbita digitata
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Curcurbita digitata Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Cucurbitales Family: Cucurbitaceae Genus: Cucurbita Species: C. digitata Binomial name Cucurbita digitata
GrayCucurbita digitata is a species of flowering plant in the squash family known by the common names fingerleaf gourd and bitter squash. This wild squash plant is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico where it is relatively uncommon. This is a hairy vining plant with sharply palmate leaves having five fingerlike lobes. It is quite similar in appearance to its close relative, the coyote gourd Cucurbita palmata, but the lobes of its leaves are usually more slender. It has curling yellow flowers up to 5 centimeters wide. The fruit is a dark green squash, rounded or nearly rounded, with mottling and distinct white stripes. The bitter fruit is very distasteful and generally not edible, although a few animals may hesitantly eat the flesh while trying to get at the seeds. Each white seed is about a centimeter long and at 35% protein and 50% fat is a nutritious food.
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