News in Brief Plants

Ancient gardeners saved the gourd

gourds

If humans hadn't domesticated early relatives of pumpkins and gourds, these iconic fall plants might not be around today.

Evan W. Isnor/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) 

By Chris Samoray

- More than 2 years ago

Humans may have saved pumpkins, squashes and gourds from an Ice Age extinction, researchers say online November 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Genetic analysis of 91 ancient and modern gourds (Cucurbita sp.)