INTRODUCTION

CUCURBITACEAE – Cucurbit or Gourd Family

Climbing plants use other plants or rocks and manmade structures for support. They belong to class Dicotyledons. Climbers are mainly distributed in the tropics and subtropics, in temperate regions often found in cultivation. Released from the function of holding up the plant shoots, the stems possess little or no ability to bear any weight (compression), but instead they are very flexible and have considerable tensile strength, meaning that stems have evolved characteristics to resist pulling and twisting.
CLASSIFICATION
Class- Dicotyledons

·         Embryo with two cotyledons.

·         Venation reticulate.

·         Flowers tetramerous or pentamerous.

Subclass- Polypetalae

·         Flowers with two whorls of perianth.

·         Inner petals free.

Series- Calyciflorae

·         Sepals united adnate to ovary.

·         Flowers perigynous or epigynous.

Order- Passiflorales

·         Flower epigynous.

·         Styles free or united and carpels united.

·         Placentation parietal.

Family- Cucurbitaceae

·         Plant tendril climber

·         leaves palmately lobed.

·         Flowers unisexual, anther monothecous, stamens 5 and variously united.

·         Placentation becoming false axile due to intruded placentae.

·         Fruit a berry or pepo.