The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are:
Bryonia is a genus of flowering plants in the gourd family. Bryony is its best-known common name. They are native to western Eurasia and adjacent regions, such as North Africa, the Canary Islands and South Asia.
Cucumis is a genus of twining, tendril-bearing plants in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes the cucumber, muskmelons, the horned melon, and the West Indian gherkin.
Henriettea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, with some 68 species accepted. It is distributed in the Americas. Some species in the genus are known commonly as camasey.
Melothria scabra, commonly known as the cucamelon, Mexican miniature watermelon, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, or pepquinos, is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family grown for its edible fruit. Its native range spans Mexico to Venezuela. Fruits are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness. It has been eaten by indigenous peoples since before Western colonization of the Americas began.
Cayaponia is the largest genus in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, with about 60 species. The plants are referred to as melonleaf. They are common from the southern United States to South America. Some species are also found in western Africa, Madagascar, and Fernando de Noronha, which is about 354 km off the coast of Brazil. It is native the southern United States to central South America and the Caribbean islands. Most species are found in rainforests and have white or yellow-green flowers. The original Cayaponia were pollinated by bats, but at least two shifts to bee pollination have occurred among some of its species. This is apparently the first clade to shift from bat to bee pollination vice bee to bat pollination. A 2011 study based on genetics placed the genus Selysia under this genus.
Microlicia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Melastomataceae, native to northern South America, particularly Brazil. They tend to be subshrubs.
Echinopepon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Tendrillate vines, their prickly fruits are operculate, with the prickles themselves being stipitate glandular.
Ampelosicyos is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Blastania is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Hemsleya is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Papuasicyos is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Peponium is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Herpetospermum is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Pteropepon is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae.
Melothria pringlei is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family, with a native range spanning Mexico to Honduras. It was first described by Sereno Watson in 1890 and placed in the genus Apodanthera, but was reclassified as belonging to the genus Melothria in 1954 by Raul Martinez Crovetto. Melothria pringlei has a prostrate habit, with scabrous stems that root where they touch the ground. Its leaves are scabrous and lobed, and grow 1–3 in (2.5–7.6 cm) in length, with a slightly smaller width. It is a monoecious species, with each plant producing both male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers, which are small.
Melothria cucumis is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family native to Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and parts of Argentina and Brazil. It is a herbaceous vine which produces oblong-ovoid green fruits 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) long and 2–2.5 cm (0.8–1.0 in) wide. Plants use tendrils to climb.
Hanburia is a genus of plants in the tribe Sicyoeae of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. Its native range is from Mexico to Venezuela and Peru. It is found in the countries of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panamá, Peru and Venezuela.
