Cucurbita maxima Duchesne

• Family: Cucurbitaceae
• Vernacular names: Mathanga, മത്തങ്ങ, മത്തൻ (Malayalam), Pumpkin, Winter squash (English), Kushmanda, Peetaphala (Sanskrit), Kaddu (Hindi), Arasanikai, Parankikayi (Tamil)
• Distribution: Native of tropical and subtropical America, now cosmopolitan
• Description: Tendrillate climbers. Leaves orbicular or reniform, entire or emarginate, 5-angled or lobed. Flowers yellow axillary, solitary, large. Fruits large; seeds ovate, yellowish.
• Habit: Climbers/Lianas
• Habitat: Cultivated
• Flowering & Fruiting: September-May

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• Parts used: Fruit and seeds
• Properties & Uses: Laxative, sedative, anti-inflammatory and diuretic. Fruit pulp is used as poultice, applied to burns, inflammations, snake bite and boils. Seeds are diuretic and used in cystitis, tapeworm and intestinal infections, to arrest enlargement of prostate gland.
• Systems of Medicines: Ayurveda, Folk, Unani,
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