American Pumpkin

Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.

It has been domesticated in the Americas for thousands of years, from where it was spread by early colonisers to Europe and later across the rest of the Old World in the context of the Columbian Exchange. Some authors maintain that C. pepo is derived from C. texana, while others suggest that C. texana is merely feral C. pepo. They have a wide variety of uses, especially as a food source. C. pepo seems more closely related to C. fraterna, though disagreements exist about the exact nature of that connection, too.

It is a host species for the melonworm moth, the squash vine borer, and the pickleworm. They are also the preferred pollen source for squash bees, which are the primary pollinators in the Americas.