Taxonomy of Cucurbitaceae: Taxonomic Investigation of Wild & Cultivated Cucurbits of Northern Parts of Bangladesh

Taxonomic investigation of the Cucurbits (family-Cucurbitaceae) growing throughout the Northern parts of Bangladesh was carried out. Documentation of species distribution, ecology and indigenous uses by local people has been made. Lists of the taxa examined with all synonyms are provided. Taxonomic position, occurrence, cultivation method, food value (mainly cultivated), uses and classification are presented and discussed. All the Cucurbits species studied were collected from the northern parts of Bangladesh. A total of 24 species under 13 genera of the family Cucurbitaceae were collected from the study area. Most of the cultivated species are grown in all districts of Bangladesh. Some of the species which are sometimes cultivated and sometimes wild are grown in particular area. Most of the species are distributed all over the study area, i. e. Benincasa hispida, Citrullus lanatus, Coccinia grandis, Cucumis melo, Cucumis sativus, Cucurbita maxima, C. pepo, C. moschata, Lagenaria siceraria, Luffa acutangula, L. cylindrica, Momordica carantia, M. cochinchinensis, Melothria maderaspatana, Trichosanthes anguina, T. cucumerina, T. bracteata and T. dioica.