This cropped up in my moschata patch. It’s got a moschata stem, but a maxima butt. Leaves looks sort of in between to me. I don’t have any flowers on the plant right now to examine. Thoughts?
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I wouldn’t like to say for sure; could it be a hybrid, do you think? Very exciting if so, I think moschata x maxima crosses are pretty rare.
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Looks like moschata X maxima to me. Don’t get your hopes up too high. The ones that I have found tend to have very few seeds that don’t germinate…
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Certainly not moschata, but can’t say for sure it’s a cross either. That stem does have moschata like features, but I have seen pictures of maxima that have that kinda of a stem. Coming of a moschata patch does make it suspicious so that it could be a cross. Rogue maxima in a moschata patch gets more attention that you might pay attention to details that might not be a sign of moschata in it. Growing out next year gives better idea on what you got there.
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Same over here!
In this photo, I hold the only naturally occurring maxima/moschata hybrid that I have found in 15 years of growing them side-by-side. The very first proof copy of my book had this photo as the cover. Alas, the resolution didn’t pass the quality control checks.
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Is that a pistol at your hip? Gotta blast them squash bugs away.
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Yup. A 9 mm pistol. The pasture next to my garden used to house a cranky bull, that would stand next to me, pawing the ground, snorting, and bellowing. That was before Utah allowed concealed carry, so I wore it openly all over town.
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I have one of these too from my Maxima patch.
Unfortunately the stem got cut really short, but still visibly un-maxima like.
The bottom looks like a maxima.
This reminds me of a summer squash. Seeds are pepo like, soft, mostly unformed altogether.
Anyway, very not like a Moschata, looks watery and won’t even try cooking it, I know what these taste like from some that looked like these last year.
Maxima Pepo hybrid?
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Unexpectedly based!
Julia Dakin
Try drying the seeds. Cucurbita maxima seeds always have papery sheath that rubs off so If it has a Pappery sheath that rubs off, it very likely has maxima genetics. Although I did notice a Conneticut field pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) Also exhibit a Thin Transparent Papery sheath that rubs off.
Could very easily be cuz the peduncle flaring looks more pepo like (But the Stem Cross Section looks way too maxima like instead). Seeds look more maxima like tho but here’s the real question! Did every seed look the same? If not then they probably got pollinated by different squashes. Correct me if I’m wrong but you should be able to see if anything crossed via the seeds inside (Since it’s the fruit/ovary that doesn’t change).
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