Pumpkin and zucchini are two well-known and widespread in domestic kitchen gardens representatives of the cucurbits. Already in the biological name, the occurring designation Cucurbita indicates the high relationship of both useful plants. Therefore, it is not surprising that especially the young plants without pronounced inflorescences and fruiting are easily confused. We explain the difference, and help to recognize both species at an early stage of growth.
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Why is it so hard to tell the difference?
Actually, one would think that each representative of the family of Cucurbita has its individual peculiarities and is therefore easily recognizable. On the whole, it is indeed so. However, it is particularly difficult with young plants. First of all, only the cotyledons are recognizable, the normal shoots and leaves are developed later and cannot be used for differentiation. In addition, the differentiation of plant species is often made on the basis of the flowers, and of course the fruits. Both are not present in young plants, because sexual maturity has not yet been reached. Thus, these characteristics are also ruled out for the recognition of the plant species. But how can zucchini and pumpkin then be reliably distinguished?
Note: The zucchini is not only a representative of the pumpkin family, it was even bred directly from pumpkins. Therefore, it is not surprising that they resemble each other to a very high degree, and in some areas they cannot be distinguished at all
Recognizing and telling zucchini and pumpkin apart
Precisely because young plants are not yet fully developed, you should still be able to recognize them early and assign them to a species of Cucurbita. After all, if you want to transplant the plants or swap them with other amateur gardeners, for example, you should not wait until they have developed further and become fully established in their current location before doing so. These criteria can help to determine the difference:
Seedlings apart
Impossible is the distinction in the first days after breaking through the soil surface. The young plants have sizes of only a few centimeters and also possible distinguishing features are accordingly not yet recognizably pronounced. Both species have strong oval cotyledons at this stage. Only in the case of direct comparisons of both Cucurbita species can the size difference already be guessed by the affiliation to zucchini or pumpkin, since pumpkins due to their well twice as large seeds usually come out of the ground more strongly formed.
When: first days of growth
Distinguishing features:
- Pumpkin more vigorously pronounced than zucchini.
- Otherwise no characteristics recognizable
Caution: Even if the size can give a vague idea of which Cucurbita species it is, you should not rely on it. Depending on the quality of the seed, the germination and growing conditions, and other factors, it is possible that a zucchini that is actually more delicate may nevertheless appear more vigorous than the normally more pronounced squash!
Young plants
With the development of the first shoots and leaves, however, identifying characteristics become clear even for inexperienced observers, as well as for plants without direct comparison. Because the leaves growing after the cotyledons already make it to a size that even finer features appear sufficiently strong.
When: first one to two weeks of life
Identifying characteristics zucchini:
- Serrated leaf edges
- Elongated, thin-skinned leaves
- Rather compact and bushy growth with a recognizable “stem
- Hairs on the underside of the leaves strong and spiny
- Dense position of the leaves on the respective main shoot
Identifying characteristics pumpkin:
- Round leaf shape
- Smooth leaf edges
- Thicker, stronger leaves
- Early formation of long, spreading shoots
- Hairs on the underside of the leaves softer and “fluffier
First flower formation
Due to their rapid growth, Cucurbita species form their first flowers very early. Whether they are still young plantlets at this stage may be questioned, but for the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned here that it is not only the fully formed flowers, but already the flower set of the female flowers that allows a good distinction between pumpkin and zucchini.
When: Consecutive weeks of growth with the first formation of flower set.
Distinguishing characteristics:
- In zucchini plant elongated flower set in shape similar to later zucchini.
- In squash, round, compact base of flower, similar to later squash shape
Fully grown plant
Only when fully grown, zucchini and pumpkin can be distinguished very clearly and without major risk of confusion. The decisive factors are the now fully developed growth characteristics, as well as the presence of the most obvious sign of species affiliation: the fruit!
When: from the achievement of the reproductive capacity.
Identifying characteristics zucchini:
- rather compact, dense growth
- clear growth direction along main shoot
- sharply serrated, elongated leaves
- clearly identifiable, mostly elongated, rarely round fruits in typical green or yellow coloration
Identifying characteristics pumpkin:
- strong flat growth without concrete direction of growth
- numerous side shoots with large leaf spacing
- round, large leaves
- round to bottle-shaped fruits with different, unicolored or striped coloration in – depending on the species – yellow, brown, orange or green coloration
Some readers may now despair at the prospect of being able to assign their plant to one or the other species only after it has grown for some time. If you follow the sometimes intense discussions of relevant forums on this subject, it quickly becomes clear that even experienced hobby gardeners make mistakes here again and again and plants turn out to be something different than originally assumed. Therefore, do not despair and enjoy, whether zucchini or pumpkin, the successfully grown, tasty vegetables!
