[Sca-cooks] The pumpkin/gourd debate (again) from theapothecary's workshop

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

> All members of genus Cucurbita are of North American origin, including 
> those found in Asia and Africa.  Gourds and melons are of Old World origin. 
> A quick way to tell the difference is to look at the stem.  Cucurbita have 
> deeply ribbed stems, the gourds and melons have round, relatively smooth, 
> lightly veined stems.

Now, I'm confused. Cucumbers are genus Cucurbita, but their presence in
Europe pre-dates any significant contact between Old and New Worlds. Do
we have an explanation for that? I didn't find one anywhere.

-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"'In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.' Well, for 
years I was smart. I recommend pleasant." - _Harvey_, by Mary Chase