Buffalo gourd

Quick look

Cucurbita foetidissima is a tuberous xerophytic plant found in the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has numerous common names, but is most commonly called the buffalo gourd in English. The type specimen was collected from Mexico by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland sometime before 1817. In Latin, foetidissima means most unpleasant smell.

• It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. ^iNaturalist
• USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) / a vine with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 22 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• NatureServe lists it as native to Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. ^NatureServe
• In Texas, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–July. ^iNaturalist
• In New Mexico, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in May–August. ^iNaturalist
• USDA PLANTS lists its flower color as yellow. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• USDA PLANTS gives its bloom period as summer. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• USDA PLANTS lists a mature height of about 1 ft. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• iNaturalist has 6,727 research-grade sightings of it in Texas, ranking #98 among the 109 flowers on our Texas list. ^iNaturalist
• iNaturalist has 2,098 research-grade sightings of it in New Mexico, ranking #15 among the 109 flowers on our New Mexico list. ^iNaturalist
• iNaturalist has 450 research-grade sightings of it in Oklahoma, ranking #80 among the 110 flowers on our Oklahoma list. ^iNaturalist