Cucurbitaceae : The Cucurbit, Cucumber, or Gourd Family

There were only 2 or 3 Cucurbitaceae located in the Balsas River Valley. One of these, known in Spanish as estropajo, and also called as such in Nahuatl, is not indigenous to the area. The native consultants were able to identify this plant, though at first with some trouble. It was growing along a rock by the side of the Balsas River and all speakers said that apparently a seed had been washed downriver and then reached the river bank and sprouted. It was nevertheless collected. The other two plants were only recognized and identified by Silvestre Pantaleón of Oapan. He called the two varieties given here by the same name in Nahuatl, kákaltsí:n, meaning 'toy house' in reference to the form of its fruit. One of the two collected is either of the genus Schizocarpum or Polyclathra. The other is definitely of the genus Polyclathra, "a generic name from the Greek meaning 'many chambers.' When the rind of the fruit dries up and falls off, it leaves the innards which are divided into several compartments in which the seeds sit. It thus looks just like a little house with rooms" (Michael Nee, personal communication). It is interesting that both the Greek genus name and the Nahuatl generic refer to 'chambers' or 'house,' based on the form of the fruit once it dries.

The following members of this family have been documented in sources consulted on Guerrero flora: Citrullus lanatus, Citrullus vulgaris, Cucumis melo, Cucurbita pepo, Cyclanthera ribiflora, Melothria guadalupensis, Schizocarpum reflexum, and Sechium edule.

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