gourd family

American  

noun

1. the plant family Cucurbitaceae, characterized by tendril-bearing vines, either trailing or climbing and having alternate, palmately lobed leaves, often large yellow or greenish flowers, and many-seeded, fleshy fruit with a hard rind, and including the cucumber, gourd, melon, pumpkin, and squash.

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Example Sentences

Pumpkins, squash, zucchini, and other members of the gourd family have a surprising trait: they can take up pollutants from the soil and store them in their edible parts.

From Science Daily

However, when it comes to other members of cucurbita — a genus of fruit in the gourd family that includes squashes and gourds — warts can be a sign of serious problems, and not genetic ones.

From Salon

In comparison, the period is just four to five days in cucumber fruits, which are also part of the gourd family but don’t grow so large, she says.

From Scientific American

What's in season: A member of the gourd family, cucumbers come in a number of varieties far beyond the dark, thick-skinned ones you might have grown up with.

From Los Angeles Times

What’s in season: Cucumbers, which are a member of the gourd family, come in a number of varieties far beyond the dark, thick-skinned ones you typically find at supermarkets.

From Los Angeles Times