The ancient roots of the pumpkin
The spooky transformation
Extreme botany and giant monsters
A global culinary superstar
YOUR GOAL
Master of How a humble squash conquered Halloween
sonia Toxic cucurbitacins deterred small animals, leaving giant mastodons to eat wild pumpkins and disperse seeds until megafauna extinction
Ice age survivors: Wild pumpkin ancestors survived extinction because giant mastodons ate them whole, ignoring their bitter, toxic skin and spreading seeds in fertile dung.
A cultivated plant species of the gourd family that includes pumpkins, zucchini, and various squashes. Archaeologists discovered ten-thousand-year-old seeds of this species inside Mexico's Guilá Naquitz cave.
Which prehistoric animal played a crucial role in dispersing wild pumpkin seeds before humans domesticated them?
What bitter chemical compound did wild pumpkins produce to protect themselves from being eaten by small rodents?
In the Indigenous 'Three Sisters' farming system, what vital role do the broad pumpkin leaves perform?
What is the scientific term for the specific type of thick-skinned berry that pumpkins belong to?