Cucurbits include cucumbers, marrows, summer squash, winter squash and ornamental selections such as gourds.
Courgettes and summer squash: cultivars of Cucurbita pepo, these are harvested when the fruits become soft-skinned. Marrows are the same species harvested for immediate use or storage when the skins harden and the fruits have attained their maximum size.
Winter squash: harvested when mature, these can be stored for months and have finer-textured and flavoured flesh than pumpkins or marrows. Usually smaller than pumpkins, they come in several different colours, not just orange. Cucurbita moschata and C. maxima are the species involved.
Gourds: these are hard-shelled fruits grown for their ornamental qualities. They are harvested when mature from plants of a wide range of species including Cucumis species, Cucurbita pepo, C. moschata, C. ficifolia and Lagenaria.
Some are not edible and indeed can be harmful if consumed.
Pumpkins: fruits described as pumpkins are in fact selections of several Cucurbita species (C. maxima, C. mixta, C. moschata and/or C. pepo). They are coarser in texture and flavour and often larger than winter squash, although gathered and used in the same way. They usually only keep for a few weeks rather than months.
Guy Barter