Fruits produced by plants of the genus Cucurbita, especially Cucurbita pepo and Cucurbita maxima, containing approximately 90 percent water with moderate vitamin C, small amounts of carotenes, starch, sugar, protein, fat, and B vitamins. They are used in jams and pies and cooked as vegetables, while the leaves and flowers of the plants can also be eaten. A safety note concerns cucurbitacins, intensely bitter tetracyclic triterpenoids that occasionally accumulate in stressed or ornamental-crossed fruits; bitter pumpkins or squashes should not be eaten. Properly grown, harvested, and stored pumpkins are wholesome, versatile staples of autumn cooking.