Where Did The Pilgrims Get The First Pumpkins?
November 18, 2001

Pumpkins are an autumn tradition from Halloween to the desserts of Thanksgiving. If the pilgrims had pumpkin pie for the first Thanksgiving, where did they get the pumpkins?

Wild ancestors of pumpkins are believed to have originated in Central America where the seeds were used by ancient Native Americans. The pulp of these early pumpkins was not deemed palatable. Edible forms were developed by cultivation, and when early explorers visited America, the plants were already grown throughout North America.

This suggests trading dispersal by the aboriginies, as this apparently tropical plant would not likely sustained itself without the help of man. Explorers carried the seeds overseas where the plant became established in Europe and Asia. Were the Pilgrims already familiar with pumpkins?

Pumpkins belong to the melon family, along with squashes. Botanically, the basic difference between squashes and pumpkins are the stems. All pumpkins have hard, woody, furrowed stems. All squashes have soft spongy stems. An acorn squash is really a pumpkin!

Because of their large size, pumpkin seeds can provide an interesting study of their structure. When removed from the pumpkin, the seeds are attached, at the small end, to the coarse interior fibers. The flat oblong has a rounded ridge at the edge with a delicate "beading" pattern. The outside covering is very slippery, but when dried it is seen as a thin transparent film which flakes off revealing the firmer middle coat.

The meat is further covered by a greenish membranous layer. The center meat has two halves which will be nourishment for the young plant. Between these two halves, at the pointed end, is the beginning of a new plant. For a very rewarding, quick, and visible study of a developing plant, plant some pumpkin seeds if they haven't already been confiscated for roasting!

Don't waste them! Recipe: To two cups of pumpkin seeds add 2 tablespoons of mild vegetable oil and salt to taste. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about 1 1/4 hour. Chewy but tasty!

As a craft item, the seeds make excellent petals for "seed" flowers. Remove the outside transparent coating before gluing them to a background.

Pumpkin seeds should be planted where they are to grow, in the garden. Transplanting is not satisfactory. They soon develop their attractive, deep green, strongly sculptured leaves. The stems are spiny...protection from intrusion. Tendrils also develop, perhaps from some long-lost ability to climb.

The exquisite, golden blossoms are of two kinds, staminate and pistilate, on the same plant and are dependent on insects for pollination. One might not care to decimate the pumpkin crop, but perhaps some of the late blossoms can be sacrificed for a taste of pumpkin blossoms dipped in batter and fried. They can also be used in a salad, soup or stew. Both seeds and blossoms are very nutritious.