Vegetable
Cucurbita pepo
S tier
Cucurbita pepo is the species behind many jack-o’-lantern pumpkins, summer squashes, and some small sugar pie types—ribbed fruits with varying flesh sweetness and shell hardness. True “pumpkin” marketing also includes C. maxima and C. moschata; under this primary, pepo covers classic field and pie pepo lines. Flavour ranges watery carving flesh to dense sweet pie. Roast, puree, seed snack, or carve. Species ID matters for cooking quality—do not assume every orange pepo is pie-worthy. Seeds (pepitas with shell) are edible roasted.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Cucurbita pepo was domesticated in the Americas for seed and flesh.
Colonial North America grew pepo pumpkins as staple winter storage food.
Halloween carving culture favoured large pepo field pumpkins.
Commodity pepo pumpkins split between carving and smaller pie types.