Description of family Cucurbitaceae for Botany students

1. CUCURBITACEAE A.L. de Jussieu
Cucurbit or Gourd Family
Geographical distribution:
World: 118 genera and 760 species mainly
distributed in tropics and subtropics. Also
found in cultivation.
India: 40 genera and 100 species
Maharashtra: 21 Genera and 58 Species

2. Vegetative Characters:
Habit: Annual or perennial herbaceous climbers or rarely xerophytic
shrubs (Acanthosicyos).
Root: Taproot, branched. Sometimes tuberous (Coccinea,
Corallocarpus, Momordica, Sechium).
Stem: Aerial, herbaceous, soild or hollow (Cucurbita). Nodes
‘typically’ unilacunar, trilacunar. Vascular bundles bicollateral, often
in two rings. Tendrils usually present or absent (Ecballium), when
present they are solitary and lateral. Tendrils simple (Cucumis,
Cucurbita, Coccinia) or bifid (Diplocyclos) or tri-fid (Citrullus) or 2–5-
fid (Trichosanthes).

3. Vegetative Characters:
Leaves: Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, petiolate,
usually palmately with multicostate venation. Stomata are
anomocytic (irregular celled) confined to lower surface.
Leaves glabrous (Coccinia) or hairy (Cucurbita), sometimes
amplexicaule and much variable in shape and size in
Solena.

4. Reproductive Characters:
Inflorescence: Plants commonly monoecious or
rarely dioecious. Female flowers axillary, solitary
and male flowers in racemes (Luffa, Solena).
Flower: bractetate or ebracteate; actinomorphic,
tetracyclic, epigynous, usually unisexual or rarely
bisexual (Schizopepon).
Calyx: Sepals 5, gamosepalous; regular; imbricate
fused to ovary wall.
Corolla: Petals 3–5–6, polypetalous (Benincasa,
Lagenaria, Luffa) or gamopetalous
(Cucumis,Cucurbita), imbricate, more commonly
white or yellow.

5. Reproductive Characters:
Androecium: Stamens usually 5, filaments free (Luffa), filaments
united, usually petaloid; anther monothecous. In Cucurbita 4 stamens
are united into single bundle and one is free. Commonly
monadelphous, or diadelphous. Anthers unilocular and bilocular;
extrorse. Pollen grains 3 aperturate, 2-celled.
Gynoecium: Usually tricarpellary, syncarpus, inferior ovary. Ovary
initially unilocular, afterwards becomes 2–5-locular with parietal
placentation. Styles 1, or 2–3; when more than one, united; stigmas
1, or 2–3 (one per carpel); each 2 lobed. Ovules 3–infinite,
anatropous.

6. Reproductive Characters:
Pollination: Entomophilous
Fruit: a berry, most commonly in the form of a
‘gourd’ (pepo).
Seed: Seeds non-endospermic; often flattened.
Dispersal: Birds, Mammals
Floral formula:
Br ♂ K(5) C5 A5 G 0
Br ♀ K(5) C5 A0 G (3)

7. Diagnostic characters:
Herbaceous climbers with tendrils
Bicolateral vascular bundles
Leaves usually lobed with multicostate venation
Flowers unisexual and epigynous
Stamens 5, synandrous.
Ovary inferior and placentation parietal.

8. Economic important species
Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Mats. & Nakai- Kohala
Citrulus colocynthis (L.) Schrad- Kadu Indarayan
Citrulus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf. var. lanatus -Kalingad
Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt -Tondali
Corallocarpus epigaeus (Rott. ex Willd.) Bent- Mirachikand
Cucumis melo L. var. melo- Kharbooz
Cucumis sativus L.- Kakadi
Cucumis setosus Cogn.- Mehaki
Cucurbita maxima Duch. ex Lamk.- Tambada Bhopala
Cucurbita moschata (Duch. ex Lam.) Duch. - Kala Bhopala
Cucurbita pepo L.- Kashi Bhopala
Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) Jeffrey- Shivlingi

9. Lagenaria siceria (Mol.) Standl.- Pungi Bhopala
Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.- Dodaka
Luffa cylindrica (L.) M. J. Roem.- Ghosawala
Momordica charantia L.- Karle
Momordica cymbalaria Hook.f.- Kadwanchi
Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd.- Kartoli
Mukia maderaspatana (L.) Roem.- Ghugarya
Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw.- Vel Vangi
Solena amlexicaulis (La.) Gandhi- Raan Dodaka
Trichosanthes angunia L.- Padwal
Trichosanthes tricuspidata Lour.- Kaundal

10. Kadu Indrayan