Family Cucurbitaceae

Some Vegetables of Cucurbitaceae Family

The family Cucurbitaceae also known as Gourd family or melon family, comprising about 118 genera and 825 species, occurring mainly in warm climates, and consisting principally of herbaceous plants with juicy stems, often climbing by tendrils that arise near the bases of the leaf stalks. Many plants in this family are cultivated for their fruits; the flowers of many species are also edible.

The leaves are usually palmately veined and often lobed. Male and female flowers are separate, on the same or on different plants; they usually have five sepals and five yellow or whitish petals. The five stamens are variously joined together; the ovary is inferior and usually of three fused carpels. 

 Uses of Cucurbitaceous Vegetables

• The hard shell of the cucumber or bottle gourd Lagenaria vulgaris is made into cups, basins, and other utensils.
• abortifacient proteins with ribosome-inhibiting properties have been isolated from several cucurbit species, which includes momordicin (from Momordica charantia), trichosanthin (from Trichosanthes kirilowii), beta-trichosanthin (from Trichosanthes cucumeroides)
• The woody veins in the fruit of Luffa cylindrica form the loofah sponge. 
•  Species of Citrullus, Momordica, Cucumis, and Cucurbita supply vegetables and edible fruits.
• The melons and musk melons come from varieties of Cucumis melo. These fruits are often ribbed on the outside. The rind may be yellow (like the honeydew melon) or green, the flesh white or orange; small forms with orange flesh are called cantaloupes.
• The cucumber C. sativus is very rare in the wild, but is cultivated for its long green fruits, which are eaten in salads when they have reached full size but before the seeds have begun to harden. Pickling cucumbers or gherkins are small varieties, often with a slightly hairy rind.