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Ep 7: Oh my Gourd, it's Pumpkin Season!

  • Writer: Nat
    Nat
  • Oct 19
  • 6 min read

Updated: Nov 29

First and foremost, look at me.

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It goes without saying that I am a fan of fall. By mid-September, many people, myself included, find themselves going nutty for a particular gourd. We cook with them, bake with them, use them for decoration - both carved and uncarved. I’m talking about everyone's favorite fall berry - and yes, I mean berry - the pumpkin. 


What is a Pumpkin?


Pumpkin is a berry (you heard that right) that belongs to the Gourd family. The International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients (or INCI) for pumpkin is Curcubita Pepo (Pumpkin) Fruit Extract. This name is what shows up on the ingredient list for cosmetic ingredients - but where does it come from?


The Pumpkin Family


Botany/zoology/genetics, are not my expertise, but I do find that stuff fascinating so we will start with a little bit of the pumpkin's family tree. First, think of a standard family tree - something like this.


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We can be distantly related to one another through a common relative. So I have brothers, and we are related because we have the same parents. My cousins are related to me because we have the same grandparent. We can look at our siblings and see similar traits, we can look at cousins and see similar traits too, but probably not as many, since you both have other genetics mixed in now. As me and my cousins continue to have kids, and their kids have kids, those individuals will become more and more genetically different from each other. 


Plants and animals (and all living species)  follow a similar pattern, but instead of individuals, it would be species. So when plants and animals are similar to one another, it is likely because they are genetically related, or share the same common ancestor. 


Pumpkin is in the Cucurbitacea, or Gourd, family. This family contains many different types of plants including, squash, gourds, watermelon, and cucumber. 


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For scientific naming of species, we usually use the what's called the genus and the species. So if “Family" was like the grandparent, "Genus" would be the parent, and "Species" would be the child.


Pumpkin is in the Cucurbitaceae family, but that family is broken up into different Genus - for pumpkin, the genus is Cucurbita. I don’t want to stir up any drama in the gourd community, and there is a bit of debate about what this genus includes. But there are several different species in this genus. The most defining characteristic of the plants in this genus is that they all produce yellow or orange flowers. One plant will produce flowers that are either male or female; however, this is not the case for all plants, and the female flowers will produce a fruit. 


What's up with fruits vs vegetables? And berries?!


Is pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable? What even are vegetables? Well, in botanical terms, vegetables don’t exist. A flower is essentially the ovary of the plant. It makes the nice soft package that the seeds go into so that they can be distributed into the earth. 


The fruits produced by Cucurbita are classified as a “Pepo” which is a specialized type of Berry with a hard outer rind. 


So now, what is a berry? Well the botanical definition is a fleshy fruit without a pit, that is produced by a single flower containing one ovary. And listen, this can be confusing, so don't stress too much. Basically, fleshy fruit means it's juicy; a dry fruit would be something like legumes and nuts. Berries also don't have a pit; this excludes things like peaches and plums. Finally, berries are produced from a single flower containing one ovary- so this is where is gets a little more confusing… so that just means that the seeds will only be on the inside, and will be surrounded by the fruit. 


Now you might be asking, what is not a berry?

  • Aggregate fruits - these make fruits that have seeds from different ovaries- called fruitlets”. Examples in include Blackberry and raspberry. 

  • Multiple Fruits - These fruits come from multiple flowers, Examples would be mullberries and pineapple. 

  • Accessory Fruit - these are a bit harder to identify, since the classification is that the fruit part isnt made from the ovary, its made from a different part of the plant. Examples are strawberries, figs and pears. 


Basically, all of this is to say that botanically, pumpkins are berries.


Cucurbita pepo - is kinda like last name, first name. And the reason I wanted to make you familiar with this name is because pumpkin extract is used in cosmetics, and when its in a product, what you will see in the ingredient deck is Cucurbita pepo (Pumpkin) extract. 


In Summary - Cucubita is defined by being primarily herbaceous climbing vines with male and female flowers. 


Why are related species so different?


Now you might be asking yourself, if different species are related, why do they look or taste or smell different? Well, because they produce different metabolites, of course! 


Metabolites are basically just all the compounds that are made during ‘metabolism’ or the process of taking food (aka sunlight) and using it to grow. There are two broad types of metabolites - primary and secondary.

  • Primary metabolites are all the things that are essential for proper growth and reproduction. They are mostly going to be macro molecules like fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, but can include smaller amino acids (which are the building blocks for proteins), nucleotides, and vitamins.

  • Secondary metabolites are the additional things that are made to help with specialized ecological function.


So basically, primary are the basic things that would keep the plant alive if no other factors were present, but secondary help the plant survive in actual complex ecosystems that they live in. This can include things like toxins to protect against herbivores, or flavors to attract herbivores, pigments, fragrance, and compounds to aid in defense. These are typically formed in the later stages after the plant has grown. 


If you have tracked macros, you might have a better understanding of these metabolites. Primary metabolites are your ‘Macros.’ However, not all macros are necessarily created equal. And by that I mean, two vegetables could have the exact same macros, but due to their secondary metabolites, one might be more ‘nutrient dense.’ 


So are secondary metabolites even important?


But the secondary metabolites can be beneficial for more than just nutrition. The plant makes secondary metabolites to be more specialized in their environment. And plant environments tend to be a bit more harsh than human environments. For example, if a fruit has to sit in the sun all day, it is probably going to be full of some sort of chemical that keeps it safe from the sun.


Plants also have to produce a variety of other chemicals to keep them safe from predators, pollution, stress and sickness. We as humans have taken advantage of those chemicals for a very very long time. We can thank secondary metabolites for things like plant medicine. Collectively, we refer to these beneficial plant chemicals, or metabolites as Phytochemicals. The prefix ‘Phyto’ means plant. 


And although pumpkin is gaining popularity in modern skin care, it certainly isn’t new. In fact, pumpkin is one of the oldest domesticated plant species, with evidence dating back to 7000 BCE in Mexico. And part of the reason it has been around for such a long time is because humans can benefit a lot from their phytochemicals. 


Pumpkin and their by-products contain a wide range of phytochemicals, including carotenoids, polyphenols, tocopherols, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibers. And these chemicals have been used for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. There is evidence of pumpkin being used by ancient civilizations, not only for eating, but also as a burn remedy. 


Why is pumpkin beneficial in cosmetics?


Pumpkin has a lot of AHA's, which are exfoliating ingredients that can help with cell turnover. Pumpkin makes a bunch of enzymes that break down the bonds and proteins in your skin, and can also digest dead skin cells when used on top of your skin. It can lead to brighter, smoother skin. Pumpkin also produces a lot of antioxidants, so it can also help soothe burns and help with damage from the skin.


DIY pumpkin treatments


Tune into next week's episode to learn more about how you can DIY a pumpkin treatment for your skincare needs!


Conclusion


Pumpkin isn’t just a fall favorite, it’s a beautiful berry from the gourd family with real benefits behind it. Different species share common ancestors, but their metabolites make them unique - color, flavor, and skin benefits included.


In skincare, pumpkin has enzymes for gentle exfoliating and phytochemicals for antioxidant and soothing support. It's not magic and it's not a must - but it can be a great tool to help alongside your basics.


So carve it, bake it, or wear it on your face (the properly formulated kind). Next week we’ll keep it practical with easy, safe DIY ideas you can actually use.


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