Musky marrow

The musky marrow is a Plante of the family of the Cucurbitacées, largely cultivated like Vegetable for its edible Fruit with maturity. The term indicates also this consumed fruit as Légume which returned to the mode these last years, like the Potiron S and the Courge S in general. It is one of the five Espèce S of marrows most usually cultivated.

Scientific name: Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, family of the Cucurbitaceous , subfamily of the Cucurbitoideae tribe of the Cucurbiteae .

Common noun: musky marrow, marrow muscarde, giraumon (the Antilles), sucrine. of: Moschuskürbis, Bisamkürbisen: tropical pumpkin, pumpkin, squash, be: calabaza moscada, it: zucca moscada, zucca muschiata .

Description

It is an annual herbaceous plant with long stems, crawling, which cling by gimlets to any support. All the plant is covered with flexible hairs, nonthorny.

The sheets are large, whole, with webbed nervation, forming five little marked lobes but presenting angles Nets. They are of marbled green color of white and velvety.

The flowers with separate sexes (monoïque plant) have colors varying of the yellow to orange.

The fruits are in general of lengthened form, with an end reinflated out of bludgeon or the shape of bottle, sometimes spherical, more flattened or corded. Their color is also very variable: green dark, orange, creams… With maturity they are covered with a characteristic glaucous dust. A specific character is the shape of the stalk, which presents five well marked coasts and widens while spreading out at the insertion point on the fruit. The flesh is thick and of rather dark color, variable of the red to the orange one.

The oval Seed S flattened, are gray brown, rough with strongly marked and undulated margins.

Origin and distribution

This species is originating in the north of Central America, the South America and South of North America (Peru, Mexico, south of the the United States in particular). It is largely cultivated in all the hot and moderated countries.

It was introduced in Europe only after the voyages of Christophe Colomb in America, like all the marrows ( Cucurbita ), moreover often confused between them and even with the gourds ( Lagenaria ) already known in Europe since the Antiquité. It is with Charles Naudin that one owes the distinction between the various species, that it made about 1860.

Its introduction in France is rather late.

It is a species which requires more heat than the other species of the kind Cucurbita . It is more cultivated in the South of Europe and the tropical countries in plain.

Principal varieties

musky Courge of Provence
long Courge of Nice
Butternut

Butternut Waltham
Butternut Sandpapered

Courge full with Naples (or marrow davit)
Sucrine of Berry
Courge with horn of Albanga
Futsu Black
Long Island Cheese
Tennessee sweet potato
Yokohama

All these varieties are hybrident very easily between them.

Culture

The musky marrows need heat. they are sown out of cups about April before being transplanted with the garden after the last frosts. They need a humus soil.

Use

The musky marrows are collected with complete maturity and are consumed cooked. One can prepare them very many manners like vegetable or as serves: out of soup, mashed potatoes, gratin, blank, tart, torta, jam… They have a rather fine musky taste.

The musky marrows are very rich in Vitamine has.

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