Plant Name
Scientific Name: Cucurbita digitata
Common Names: Fingerleaf Gourd, Finger-leaved Gourd
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Vine, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland. It is usually found growing in or along dry, sandy washes or in other areas with loose, dry soil.
Flower Color: Orange-yellow
Flowering Season: Summer
Height: Trailing to 20 feet (6.1 m) long
Description: The flowers open for only a very brief time around dawn, so it can be difficult to capture them blooming. The star-shaped flowers have 5 pointed lobes and are broadly tubular and 2 inches (5 cm) long. The flowers are followed by round, green gourds with vertical, white stripes. The gourds turn yellow and then solid tan as they dry. The leaves are green and palmate with 5 finger-like, white-veined lobes.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Violales
Family: Cucurbitaceae – Cucumber family
Genus: Cucurbita L. – gourd
Species: Cucurbita digitata A. Gray – fingerleaf gourd
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