Quick Facts
Also called:
Missouri gourd, buffalo gourd, or wild pumpkin
Related Topics:
gourd
Squash
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

calabazilla

plant
Also known as: Cucurbita foetidissima, Missouri gourd, buffalo gourd, wild pumpkin(Show More)

calabazilla, (Cucurbita foetidissima), perennial prostrate vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to southwestern North America. Although calabazilla is a fairly unattractive plant with a fetid odour, it is sometimes grown as an ornamental in arid and semiarid areas for its colourful fruits and its edible seeds, which are rich in both oil and protein.

Calabazilla is a trailing vine with tuberous roots and triangular, long-stalked, finely toothed leaves. The yellow, unisexual flowers have five petals and are about 6 to 10 cm (2.5 to 4 inches) wide, and they produce round, inedible, predominantly green fruits with yellow stripes and markings.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.