Cucurbita argyrosperma (Squash)

Cucurbita argyrosperma

Common Name: Squash
Oˊodham Name: Ha:l Audio
Group: Crop Plants － Crop Plants

Description

Ha:l is an important food crop for the Tohono Oˊodham. It is planted with great ceremony, songs and blessings just before the summer rains. It is heat tolerant and, using the ak-chin (flood farming) method, needs no additional water beyond the water supplied by the monsoon. There are many varieties of Ha:l with varying colors, shapes and sizes. All parts of the plant are edible and they are most commonly eaten boiled or steamed. They can also be peeled, sliced and sun-dried for storage. Ha:l is high in vitamin A and beta carotene. The shells can be used as containers.

Gourds, squash, and pumpkins are closely related, both being in the genus Cucurbita. See "More Information", below, for the US distribution of members of this genus.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Dilleniidae

Order Violales

Family Cucurbitaceae － Cucumber family

Genus Cucurbita L. － gourd

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map