Types and varieties of pumpkins: classification, description, photo

It is believed that large-fruited pumpkin varieties originated from Central, South America and Asia, small ones in the wild were found in North Africa. In Russia, the plant has been cultivated since the 16th century, quickly took root, it became popular at first among the peasants - the fruits were used in the preparation of many dishes of the national cuisine, went to feed livestock.

Now the product has found application in official and folk medicine, cosmetology, dietary nutrition. The best pumpkin varieties are used to make delicious dishes in expensive restaurants.

Pumpkin has a number of advantages: it is useful, has a long shelf life, and is easy to grow. But not everyone loves it. This is partly due to the limited number of recipes that housewives are used to using, but sometimes they just choose the wrong variety, and a feed variety of pumpkin is served at the table.

Botanical description

Pumpkin (Cucurbita) is a genus of heat-loving herbaceous plants from the Pumpkin family. There are about 20 species, there are annuals and perennials. When grown in Russia, the growing season is limited to one season.

By the nature of growth, the aboveground parts of the pumpkin are divided into:

1. Long-leaved, in which a thick, creeping, branched main shoot can reach 15 m. There are thinner lateral processes of the first, second, etc. orders.
2. Shrub - with shortened whips from 50 cm to 2 m long. Internodes are located close to each other, there are few lateral shoots or not.

The stem is covered with stiff, moderately spiny hairs, depending on the species, it can be round in cross section or faceted. Leaves are dense, often rough, of different shades of green, located on long petioles. The shape is rounded, heart-shaped, solid or with recesses of different depths, five-lobed.

After 6 or 7 leaves, branched strong tendrils appear on the pumpkin, with which it clings to neighboring plants. This increases the plant's resistance to wind.

The root system is powerful. The main root is taproot, extending to a depth of 2-3 m. Lower-order processes spread in breadth in the arable layer, develop an area up to 4-5 m in diameter.

Pumpkin is a monoecious plant, flowers are divided into male and female. They are short-lived, bell-shaped, large, five-lobed, yellow or orange, less often white. Placed on the main shoot and lateral lashes. Pollinated by insects.

From a botanical point of view, the fruit is a false berry (pumpkin). Comprises:

• a shell that becomes very hard after maturation;
• pulp;
• hollow inner chamber with numerous seeds.

The shape and size depends on the type and variety of pumpkin. Some are small, about the size of a fist, others are gigantic. They can be round, flat-round, elongated, pear-shaped, thin and long. Decorative pumpkins are striking in their bizarre outlines. The cover color is varied, the flesh is usually yellow or orange, but it can be white, cream, greenish.

Store pumpkins in normal indoor conditions. Most of the varieties lie before Christmas, but there are some that, even in hot climates, do not deteriorate for 2-3 years.

Pumpkin varieties: classification by ripening time

Pumpkin fruits ripen at different times, depending on the species, variety and growing region. With biological ripeness, the peel becomes hard, acquires a characteristic color.

There are pumpkins:

• early, from germination to harvest, 90-113 days pass, the sugar content is 5-9%;
• averages ripen in 135-140 days, carbohydrates - 7-13%;
• the late ones are the most delicious, but already in the Middle Lane they should be grown through seedlings, to maturity - 140-160 days, sugars - at least 11%.

Pumpkins are not tasty right after picking. They are left to mature for at least a month.

How to distinguish a feed pumpkin from a canteen

Fodder gourd is more productive, but not as tasty as table gourd. It can be eaten not only by animals, but also by humans, the main differences are:

• very large fruits;
• rarely gets sick;
• high productivity;
• a lot of seeds;
• contains few carbohydrates;
• the inner cavity is large.

Table gourds have a small empty hole. The bulk of the fruit is the pulp. As fodder, you can use any kind of cultivated pumpkin, but most often the cattle are given Large-fruited or Hard-baked.

Large pumpkin

The Latin name of the species is Cucurbita maxima, homeland is South America. The fruits of the Large-fruited or Giant pumpkin are the largest of the cultivated plants. The record weight of 1190 kg was recorded in 2016 in Belgium.

An annual herb. Usually forms powerful shoots with cylindrical, thick, pubescent shoots up to 10 m long, but there are also compact bushy varieties. The leaves are soft, kidney-shaped, often with shallow grooves, green.

The flowers are yellow, bright, large, with bent petals. The calyx is bell-shaped, with thin sepals. The seeds are quite large, from white to coffee in color.

Pumpkins are round or oval, usually very large, in some varieties or varieties can reach tens or even hundreds of kilograms. The coat is orange, white, gray, green, pinkish. The surface is ribbed or smooth. A distinctive feature is a short, soft, cylindrical stalk.

Large-fruited there are three large subspecies and a lot of small forms and varieties of pumpkins. It is difficult for a simple gardener or culinary specialist to figure out which of them are well-known or not very well-known varieties in Russia.

South American subspecies

Feature - powerful, rigidly pubescent, long lashes. Ripens late. Lower taxa:

• Chilean - with round light gray pumpkins and thick orange flesh;
• Chalmoid differs from the previous one by the presence of a turban-like protrusion on the fruit;
• Lupus is similar to a non-asymmetric whirligig (top), the integumentary color is greenish-gray, after ripening it can turn red, the pulp is sweet and dense, the surface is uneven (varieties - American Hobbard series);
• Shrub - the name speaks of the shape of the plant, the fruits are small, up to 0.5 kg, flattened, contain a lot of carotene, with a hard skin;
• Bolivian - with small to medium pumpkins, brown seeds, woody bark;
• Peruvian is distinguished by large fruits with a soft skin and an oval shape, brown-red seeds.

West Asian subspecies

Forms plants with lashes of medium strength and length, with softer pubescence than the South American subspecies. Most of the varieties mature in the open field of the European part of Russia.

Younger taxa:

• Round gray - with spherical or slightly flattened fruits at the poles, the peel is gray-green, after full ripening it usually acquires a pinkish tint, the flesh is loose or of medium density (varieties Volzhskaya gray, Dunganskaya);
• Winter - the pulp is usually sweeter, the pumpkin is gray, long-term storage (varieties - Spanish, Winter dining room, Circassian);
• White - differs from the previous ones in cover color (varieties - Bezenchukskaya white, Honey white);
• Whale - fruits are large, elongated, in culture it is represented by the only variety Whale;
• Mammoth - large-fruited, similar to even or flattened balls, the peel turns pink early (varieties - Shestipudovaya, Mamontovaya, Etampskaya, Gigantic);
• Oval - what a pumpkin looks like, it is clear from the name of the variety, varieties, for example, Alashehir, come from Asia Minor, are grown mainly in the same place;
• Banana - pumpkins up to 0.5 m long, 12-20 cm thick;
• Small-fruited - no more than 25 cm in diameter, varieties are bred in Japan (Bouquet).

Chinese subspecies

Plants are weak, delicate, with flattened small and medium fruits, a mandatory formation at the top in the form of a turban. The bark is thin, woody. It is eaten at a young age, more often used as decorative.

Distributed in the Far East and Western China. Varieties - Episcopal, Small Chinese.

The best varieties of large-fruited pumpkins

From the point of view of consumer value, many varieties of Large-fruited pumpkin are fodder. But there are some really tasty canteens among them.

Volzhskaya gray 92

Registered by the agrofirm "Aelita", in the State Register since 1940. Gray pumpkin of the Volzhskaya variety is extremely popular in Russia. Despite its large fruits, it is recommended for consumption.

The plant is powerful, with lashes up to 8 m long, large leaves, petioles of 25 cm or more. The pumpkins are mid-season, flattened slightly to medium, light gray, without a pattern. Weight - 6-9 kg, leathery bark.

The pulp is yellow or creamy, up to 4.5 cm thick, the density and sweetness are medium, the seed chamber is large. Long-term storage fruits are excellently transported.

Gribovskaya winter

The famous late variety from the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing". In the State Register since 1972. Appreciated for keeping quality and good taste.

The whips are long, the pumpkin is about 3 kg. The cover color is gray, it can be without a pattern, or it can be colored with inconspicuous stripes or a net. The shape is an oblate ball, the bark is thin. The pulp is bright yellow, sometimes with a reddish tinge, up to 5 cm thick, sweet, juicy, tender.

Winter sweet

Late variety, selection - OS VIR, Kuban branch. Year of inclusion in the State Register - 1995. Winter sweet is used in the canning industry, served on the table, goes to feed livestock.

The scourge is medium or long, the leaf is pentagonal, with small indentations. Pumpkins weighing from 4.2 to 6.2 kg, gray, with pronounced segments, the surface is covered with tubercles and a gray pattern in the form of spots. The pulp is tasty, firm, thick, yellow or orange. The bark is thin.

Golden barrel

The newest variety from the agrofirm "Aelita", adopted by the State Register in 2019 Mid-season, climbing, with dark, dissected leaf plates.

The pumpkin is large, round, with depressed apex and base, divided into moderately pronounced segments. The cover color is orange, the pattern is absent.

The pulp is crispy, very tasty, orange, the seed chamber is large. The average fruit weight is 17 kg, the maximum is 22 kg. Storage - up to 100 days after harvesting.

Parisian gold

An early variety, registered by the Poisk agrofirm, in the State Register since 2007. A large plant with a long main lash, whole leaves, large in size.

Fruits for universal purposes, weight - from 3.5 to 9 kg, maximum - 16 kg. Pumpkins are flat-round, segmented, creamy with yellow spots. They lie for a long time and are well transported.

The pulp is thin, orange, juicy. The taste is delicate, but the variety contains little sugar.

Butternut squash

Cucurbita moschata. It has gained particular popularity over the past few decades due to the excellent taste and small size of the fruit, grown in the open field.

Herbaceous annual creeping plant. Shoots and leaf petioles are rounded-faceted. The leaves are pubescent, dark green, with white spots, can be reniform, with small notches, five-lobed. The flowers are pale orange.

The peduncle is faceted, smooth and firm. Pumpkins with dense, but tender, rich orange flesh. They are distinguished by a light nutmeg aroma. Seeds are small to medium, off-white.

There is a clear geographical division in the names of the subspecies. Two of them - Japanese and Turkestan, include several varieties (lower taxa), will be considered separately.

Butternut squash includes subspecies:

• Indian is widespread in the tropics, a powerful plant with erect leaves and large round or oval fruits, very voracious, requires a larger area of ​​food than other pumpkins;
• Mexican - a large, roughly pubescent plant with fruits of medium size, different shapes, woody rind, sweet flesh, but thin and mealy;
• Colombian is distinguished by long lashes, widely spaced internodes, pale leaves devoid of whitish spots; fruits are medium, pepper-shaped, with sweet dirty brown flesh and brown seeds;
• Guatemalan - fruits from round to cylindrical, creamy integumentary color, with a bright net or stripes.

Turkestan

Includes earliest varieties. Plant with medium-sized lashes, leaves spread. The fruits are mostly elongated, with thick flesh.

Varieties:

1. Face-shaped - pumpkins 1 m or more long, often curved with an arc (Gram).
2. Interception - fruits up to 60 cm, cylindrical or with a slight thickening at the end (varieties - Biryuchekutskaya, Kashgarskaya, Leninabadskaya, Plov-kedy).
3. Pitcher-shaped - shorter than the previous ones, there is a significant thickening at the flower end, one of the most common varieties in the post-Soviet space.
4. pumpkin Pear-shaped, varieties differ in that the thickening and elongated part are about the same length.
5. Elliptical - oval in shape, often with flat ends.
6. Spherical - round, pumpkins can be angular, often with noticeable segments (varieties - Large cheese, Mammoth, Sweet cheese).
7. Flattened - the thickening is greater than the elongated part.

Japanese

The plant is prostrate, with thin leaves and shoots. Fruits are original in shape, with pronounced wrinkles, warty growths or segments. They are distinguished by early maturity, small size, flattened shape, noticeable waxy bloom.

Varieties:

• Flat cerebral - pumpkin in the form of discs, 1.5-3 kg each;
• Dwarf - fruits up to 18 cm in diameter, weighing from 500 g to 1.5 kg;
• Elongated cerebral - similar to a cylinder or intercept.

The best varieties of nutmeg pumpkins

It is believed that Muscat is the sweetest of the widespread types of pumpkins. Breeders are trying to create varieties with not too large fruits, they all have a table purpose.

Vitamin

The variety was adopted by the State Register in 1952, selection - Narsullaev N. M. and agrofirma Poisk. Late ripening, with whips up to 6 m, pentagonal grayish leaves, covered with small whitish spots along the veins, located on petioles 25 cm long. Recommended for processing.

The pumpkin is ribbed at the stalk, thick, segmented, in the form of a short oval or cylinder. Average weight - 4.5-7 kg. The color is deep pink with an orange tint, pinkish-brown after ripening. The surface is covered with green spots and mesh. The pulp is orange to red, of varying degrees of sweetness, crispy, no more than 10 cm thick.

Guitar

A common mid-season table variety from the Aelita agricultural firm, in the State Register since 2013. The main shoot is long, leaves are whole, large.

The pumpkin is yellow, divided into segments, club-shaped, weighing about 3.5 kg. Transportability and keeping quality are good. The pulp is tasty, thick, juicy, crunchy, yellow in color.

Provencal nutmeg

French table variety, in the State Register since 2013. Medium late, drought-resistant, medium-sized, leaves without white spots.

Fruits are flat-round, segmented, orange to brown, covered with a noticeable waxy coating. Weight from 3 to 8 kg. The pulp is tasty, medium juiciness, thick and dense, orange in color.

Prikubanskaya

The variety is mid-season, universal, adopted by the State Register in 1998, the originator is FGBNU VNII RISA. The main shoot is 3-4 m, the leaves are dark green, pentagonal, with white spots.

Pear-shaped pumpkin, the variety belongs to the Interceptions. Segments are absent or weakly expressed, weight - 2.3-4.6 kg, integumentary color is orange-brown, with reddish-brown mesh and spots.The pulp is orange with a reddish tint, juicy, tender, sweet, up to 4 cm thick, solid at the stalk.

Havana F1

Dutch mid-early table hybrid. In the State Register since 2015, the main shoot is long, the leaves are small, without spots.

The pumpkin is club-shaped, cream, weighing up to 2 kg. The pulp is orange, crispy, medium juiciness and thickness. Good transportability, keeping quality - 6 months.

Hard bark gourd

Cucurbita pepo is one of the most common pumpkins, and the seeds of the best varieties are eaten as often as the pulp. Russia is one of the three world leaders in commercial cultivation of this species. Hard-barked Pumpkin can be found under the name Common.

Annual plant, herbaceous. Stems are short or up to 8 m long, pentahedral, furrowed, with a thorny down. Each knot has a tendril curled in a spiral. The leaves are rough, five-lobed, with pointed tips, dark green. The flowers are orange.

All varieties, when ripe, have a hard, shell-like woody rind. The pumpkin is large and smooth, spherical or oval, but the shape, as well as the size of the fruit, strongly depends on the variety. The pulp is coarse, fibrous. Seeds are yellowish or white, there are gymnosperms.

The Hard-Bark Pumpkin with large fruits is one of the symbols of Halloween. From a consumer point of view, there are decorative, table and fodder varieties. Botany distinguishes three subspecies.

Climbing

This includes all pumpkins with long shoots. Varieties:

• Citrulina - fruits are round, flattened, short-oval, large and medium-sized, includes the vast majority of cultivated varieties belonging to the subspecies (Mozoleevskaya, Turskaya);
• Vegetable - pumpkins with a diameter of 15 to 20 cm with a weight of 0.5-2.5 kg, are eaten until the fruit hardens (varieties - Small and English Sugar);
• Climbing zucchini - with long fruits, the popular varieties Mesiotamsky and Kuldzhinsky are rarely grown in Russia.

Bush

Bush pumpkin varieties are characterized by a short stem with closely spaced internodes, almost completely hidden under the leaves. All varieties are eaten unripe, better - greens. Overripe, but with a peel that has not completely hardened, become tasteless, often go to livestock feed.

Varieties:

• zucchini - a well-known vegetable with oblong fruits;
• squash - the form is flattened, 2-3-day-old ovaries are eaten;
• Kukurnek (crank) - clavate fruits with a warty surface.

Small-fruited

Decorative and wild-growing small pumpkins. The variety names depend on the shape and size of the fruit:

• Mandarin;
• Pear-shaped;
• Texas;
• Warty.

The best varieties of hard pumpkins

Not all gardeners know that zucchini and squash, from a botanical point of view, are pumpkins. Usually their cultivation and culinary use are considered separately. Here are the varieties of hard-bore climbing pumpkins.

Danae

Mid-season table variety from the agrofirm "Poisk", in the State Register since 2006. Scourges are long, leaves are large, with white spots. The pumpkin is round or slightly elongated, orange with stripes. Weight 5-7 kg.

The pulp is dense, starchy, light yellow in color. The taste is good, the yield is high, but the naked seeds, devoid of the rind, are of particular value.

Danka polka

Table variety, mid-early, adopted by the State Register in 2006, originator - Agro-Best agricultural company. Shoots and leaves are medium. Ripe pumpkin is orange-green, covered with whitish spots.

The pulp is starchy, contains little juice, but very tasty. Fruit weight - 2-3.5 kg. The internal cavity is large, the seeds are covered with skin.

Gribovskaya bush

An old popular variety from the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing". Year of inclusion in the State Register - 1964. Forms a powerful bush with large pentagonal leaves sitting on petioles more than 30 cm long.

The pumpkin is oval or cylindrical, tapering towards the peduncle, smooth or with weak ribs.Weight - 2.3-4.8 kg, cover color is orange, with a greenish-black pattern. The bark is thin. The pulp is dark yellow to light orange, 2-5 cm, sweet, firm.

Mozoleevskaya 49

One of the most famous old varieties, included in the State Register in 1943, the originator is the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution FNTSO. Mid-season, with whips up to 8 m, very large pentagonal leaves.

Pumpkin in the form of a short oval or cylinder tapering towards the peduncle. The average weight reaches 5 kg. The cover color after full ripening is orange with a brownish-green pattern. When stored for a long time, the green color disappears completely.

The bark is thin, the flesh is sweet, dense, of excellent taste, orange color, 4-5 cm. The inner cavity is large.

Spaghetti

A relatively new original early-ripening variety of selection "Biotekhnika", in the State Register since 2001. Recommended for use in home cooking and all types of winter preparations.

Forms a climbing plant with medium-sized pentagonal leaves. Smooth pumpkins weighing about 850 g are barrel-like in shape, with a creamy smooth skin and beige fibrous flesh. It contains little juice and sugars, but tender and has a vanilla aroma.

Rare types and varieties of pumpkins

There are other types of pumpkin. Some are used for decorative purposes, others can be eaten. In Russia, most of them can only live in heated greenhouses and greenhouses. They are not particularly valuable for ordinary gardeners, chefs or simply plant lovers.

The most famous:

1. Lagenaria - liana, reaching 15 m. Fruits are long, with a hard skin, weighing 4-15 kg. Young, about half a meter in size, are used for food. Ripe pumpkin can be used to make dishes, pipes or musical instruments.
2. The bottle is a thermophilic vine with large flowers that change color depending on the time of day. Fruits are pear-shaped or thin, curving like a snake.
3. Fig-leaved is a perennial plant with fruits of various shapes, black seeds and white flesh. Extremely disease resistant, used to inoculate other species.

Three types of pumpkin are of economic importance in Russia and neighboring countries: Hard-bark, Large-fruited and Muscat. It is the pumpkin varieties of these types that are best chosen for planting and eating. You can always find a suitable variety - they differ in shape, weight, color, ripening time, taste and aroma.

How to choose pumpkin varieties - video