Cross pollination of Courgette (Zucchini) with Pumpkin?

[TamsinAston]

I picked a yellow courgette (zucchini) from a healthy yellow courgette plant (variety 'Floridor') last week. We've been growing that same plant all summer with the normal results, alongside one other Floridor and one green 'Defender' courgette plant.

Only this time, the fruit looked just like the standard yellow courgette from the outside, but when I cut into it, the skin was much tougher than usual, the flesh was yellow & very firm and the seeds were like a standard pumpkin seed.
It also tasted very similar to a pumpkin.

Has anyone else ever grown a 'zumpkin' ?

[applestar]

I'm thinking in this case, the fruit had become mature -- Summer squash are usually harvested while still immature but they are same species as pumpkins Cucurbita Pepo

What has the temperature been like lately? If it gets cold or the plant is already feeling tired at the end of the season, the plant can think it needs to hurry up and get those seeds to viable mature state.

(One other alternative I can think of is that you had a volunteer crossed seedling grow in your patch, unnoticed among your other, known seed grown vines, and this is the one that produced the unusual and crossed fruit -- they can cross pollinate easily since they are same species and bees will visit all the flowers.)

[digitS']

I don't know why they cross so easily!

It seems that it must be impossible to grow either pumpkins or summer squash, save seeds and expect anything other than a hybrid!

The neighbor allows his volunteers to grow all the time. We use the same tractor guy for spring tilling. One year, volunteers were scattered throughout my sown squash! I had a difficult time knowing what I had planted and what volunteered. I sure knew when they began to make fruit!

He gave me one of his hybrids this year. Same problem as always -- the skin was too hard for carving as a Jack o'lantern. I cut it completely open and the flesh was harder than any of my winter squash. They seem more gourd-like than anything else.

Steve

[!potatoes!]

that cross is definitely possible, but you would only see expression of the cross the generation after the cross happened. if the specific plant that grew that fruit has made totally regular fruits already this year, that fruit's not the result of a cross.

[jal_ut]

Yes, you won't see any results of a cross until you save the seeds and grow them next year.

Zucchini, crookneck, hubbard squash, yellow bannana, etc. and gourds all will cross with each other. If you save seed from squash and you have more than one variety in your garden ,or the neighbors do, you may get anything from the offspring.

I am not saying this is bad, some of the hybrids are interesting and tasty. I often let a volunteer squash grow just to see what it will be.