Which family contains most of the species in Cucurbitales?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

A pile of freshly harvested pumpkins and gourds in various shapes, with striped patterns in shades of yellow, orange, and green. — Cucurbitales Pumpkins and gourds, order Cucurbitales.

The family that contains the majority of species in the order Cucurbitales is Begoniaceae, which accounts for 60 percent of the species within the order.1

While Cucurbitaceae—the family comprising squash, gourd, and cucumber—is the most diverse in terms of genera, containing 90 percent of the genera in the order, it is the begonia family that holds the largest share of the total species count.1