The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera. Those most important to humans are the following:
Arctium is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mechanism for seed dispersal, led to the invention of the hook and loop fastener.
Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion developing extremely deep root systems. Their wood is usually hard, dense and durable. Their fruits are pods and may contain large amounts of sugar. The generic name means "burdock" in late Latin and originated in the Greek language.
Helenium is a genus of annuals and herbaceous perennial plants in the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas.
Trixis is a genus of shrubs in the family Asteraceae, native to North and South America including the West Indies.
The Cardueae are a tribe of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and the subfamily Carduoideae. Most of them are commonly known as thistles; four of the best known genera are Carduus, Cynara, Cirsium, and Onopordum.
Oxypetalum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described with this name in 1810. The genus is native to South America.
Danthonia is a genus of Eurasian, North African, and American plants in the grass family. Members of this genus are sometimes referred to as oatgrass, but that common name is not restricted to this genus. Other common names include heathgrass and wallaby grass. Australian species have since been reclassified into the genus Rytidosperma.
Pluchea is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Inuleae within the family Asteraceae. Members of this genus might be known as camphorweeds, plucheas, or less uniquely fleabanes. Some, such as P. carolinensis and P. odorata, are called sourbushes. There are plants of many forms, from annual and perennial herbs to shrubs and trees, and there is variation in the morphology of leaves, flowers, and fruits.
Bothriochloa is a common and widespread genus of plants in the grass family native to many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. They are often called beardgrass, bluegrass or bluestem. Some species are invasive in areas where they have been introduced.
Polypogon is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, commonly known beard grass or rabbitsfoot grass.
Amblyopappus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus in 1841.
Layia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known generally as tidy tips, native to western North America. Several are California endemics.
Araujia is a small genus of perennial vines in the dogbane family first described as a genus in 1817. The group is native to South America.
- Araujia angustifolia(Hook. & Arn.) Steud. - Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, NE Argentina
- Araujia graveolens(Lindl.) Mast. - Brazil
- Araujia herzogii(Schltr.) Fontella & Goyder - Bolivia
- Araujia hortorumE.Fourn. - Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, NE Argentina
- Araujia megapotamica(Spreng.) G.Don - Brazil, Uruguay, NE Argentina
- Araujia plumosaSchltr. - Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, NW Argentina
- Araujia sericiferaBrot. - white bladderflower, cruel vine - Peru, Brazil; naturalized in parts of South Africa + United States
- Araujia stuckertiana(Kurtz ex Heger) Fontella & Goyder - Cordoba in Argentina
- Araujia subhastataE.Fourn. - Brazil
Trichocline is a genus of Australian and South American plants in the tribe Mutisieae within the family Asteraceae. It consists of one species from Australia (T. spathulata) and twenty-three from South America.
Schkuhria is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Bahieae within the family Asteraceae. False threadleaf is a common name. The genus was named in honour of Christian Schkuhr (1741-1811), a German gardener and physical scientist at the University of Wittenberg.
Lygodesmia, called skeletonplant, is a genus of North American flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.
Tweedia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1835. The genus is native to South America. An ornamental plant, Oxypetalum coeruleum, formerly included in this genus is commonly referred to as "tweedia".
- Tweedia andina(Phil.) G.H.Rua - Chile
- Tweedia aucaensisG.H. Rua - Argentina
- Tweedia australis(Malme) C. Ezcurra - Argentina
- Tweedia birostrata(Hook. & Arn.) Hook. & Arn. - Chile
- Tweedia brunonisHook. & Arn. - Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay
- Tweedia echegarayi(Hieron.) Malme - Argentina
- Tweedia solanoides(Hook. & Arn.) Chittenden - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
Viviania is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Francoaceae.
New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile is a cultivar group of the chile pepper from the US state of New Mexico, first grown by Pueblo and Hispano communities throughout Santa Fe de Nuevo México. These landrace chile plants were used to develop the modern New Mexico chile peppers by horticulturist Fabián García and his students, including Roy Nakayama, at what is now New Mexico State University in 1894.
