What is a Pumpkin?

1. What is a Pumpkin? More than just a plant that looks like Charlie Brown

2. Question 1 • A pumpkin is not a thing. What it means depends on where you live. • Pumpkin is a word used all across the world to describe a plant call “squash”. • In some countries, all big round squash are pumpkins. In America, it’s more specific to orange and white squash that have a hard round stem.

3. Question 2 • Most pumpkins fall under the scientific classification CucurbitaPepo • We will study scientific classifications in this upcoming unit. • Classification is a way we can make sure we’re always calling the right species the same thing

4. Question 3 • A pumpkin is a plant which places it in something called the kingdom “plantea” • There are 4 other kingdoms: • Animalia • Protista • Archea • Fungi

5. Free Space • Do you think a pumpkin is a vegetable, a fruit, or neither?

6. Question 4 • A pumpkin is a fruit! • It’s a fruit because it grows its ovaries on the outside, in its case a vine • Little known fact: Pumpkins have flowers that grow next to them on their vines. The flowers are used for pollinating

7. Question 5 • You may have noticed pumpkins are orange. There are lots of reasons plants change their color. • The following slide will list some of those reasons…

8. Question 5 cont. • 1. To get animals to eat them • 2. To get animals to not eat them • 3. To absorb sunlight in a different way • 4. Probably other important things that I don’t know cause I’m not a biology guy

9. Question 6 • Lots of fruits use shells to protect their seeds. • The pineapple, the grapefruit, the pumpkin, the watermelon, and the coconut. • This may be because they don’t want their seeds eaten at all • Sometimes they want the seeds to be dug out and sprayed along the ground by animals

10. Question 7 • Pumpkins are known as “hardy” because they are tough to have ripped apart by animals and weather • However, they must be grown in warm places in deep rich soil • 95% of all pumpkins used to make special flavorings are grown in Illinois

11. Question 8 • Please draw a diagram of the cross section of the pumpkin in class. • Be sure to include labels. • The next slide will explain what each part of the pumpkin does

12. Question 8 cont • The stem: connects it to the vine which give the plant water and nutrients • The seeds: allow germination • The pulp: Store sugar for extra energy • The shell: Protects the pumpkin from predators

13. Question 9 • Germination: The process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow • Pollination: Theprocess by which pollen is transferred in the reproduction of plants, thereby enabling fertilization and sexual reproduction.

14. Question 10 • Pumpkins make more pumpkins by pollination and germination. • The seeds get spread by the pumpkins getting broken open • After the seed is planted, the male flowers send pollen to the female flowers, which allows the genetic material to come together and make a stronger plant

15. Question 11 • In case you were wondering, Jack O Lanterns came from imitating the light seen through fog in the old bogs of Europe. • The face carvings came from the old halloween tradition of warding off evil spirits. Before power tools were invented, fruits were the easiest things around to carve. • Tiene un buendia de los muertosmañana amigos y amigas.