Nomad blackboard: The Marimurtra pumpkins

This blackboard is part of the “The Nomad Blackboards” project and accompanies an exhibition showcasing 15 different varieties of local pumpkins.

First of all, what are pumpkins? Pumpkins are the fruits of a plant family called Cucurbitaceae, which comprises 120 genera and 900 species. While most species are found in warmer climates, some can survive in colder regions thanks to resistance structures that enable their endurance through winter.

Humans have cultivated and used this family of plants for a long time – approximately 15,000 years. For this reason, they hold significant economic value and are a staple in our diet.

This exhibition features four different pumpkin species: Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, Lagenaria siceraria, and Cucumis melo. The species Cucumis melo and Lagenaria siceraria belong to the tribe Benincaseae, while Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata belong to the tribe Cucurbiteae.

These fruits are rather peculiar. The fruits of Cucurbita maxima are considered one of the largest, as their name suggests.

On the other hand, Lagenaria siceraria produces asymmetrical fruits that often resemble bottles (hence its common name). However, its shapes vary widely, ranging from large and round to small, bottle-shaped, or slender and winding, often growing over a meter in length.

Moreover, this type of pumpkin is one of the earliest cultivated plants, renowned for its wide range of uses. Traditionally, it was grown not only for consumption when young but also for its utility when matured and dried. Its hard, waterproof skin made it ideal for crafting utensils or containers, long before pottery was developed. Even today, it holds significant cultural importance in various parts of the world, especially in the Mediterranean and India, where in the latter plays a crucial role in music as a resonator in string instruments.

This pumpkin species originated in Africa and later spread to other continents, including Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The oldest pumpkins found in South Asia date back approximately 9,000–8,000 years, while those in South America are roughly 8,000–7,000 years old. There are two scientific theories about how they reached the Americas despite the ocean separating them. One posits that pumpkins, being very lightweight when dried, could float across the sea. The other suggests that they were transported by Paleo-Indian (indigenous) populations migrating from Africa to the Americas during an Ice Age.

The pumpkins displayed in the Botanical Garden’s exhibition are not only fascinating for their shapes and colors but also because they are all regionally sourced, with most originating in Catalonia. Showcasing and preserving regional species has become increasingly important in times of globalization and monoculture, which often threaten the diversity of such species.