MapMuse - Locate Pumpkin Patches or Pumpkin Farm Near You

...mixta, and Cucurbita moschata.

The pumpkin varies greatly in form, being sometimes nearly globular, but more generally oblong or ovoid in shape. The rind is smooth and varies in color between cultivars. Although orange is the most common color, some fruits are dark green, pale green, orange-yellow, white, red and gray. Large specimens acquire a weight of 40 to 80 lb (18 to 36 kg), but smaller fruits are more frequently encountered.

Although the pumpkin is botanically classified as a fruit (the ripened ovary of a flowering plant), it is widely regarded culinarily as a vegetable. Their insides are commonly eaten cooked and served in dishes such as pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin soup; the seeds can be roasted as a snack. Pumpkins are traditionally used to carve Jack-o'-lanterns for use in Halloween celebrations.

Using pumpkins as lanterns at Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic custom brought to America by Irish immigrants.[citation needed] All Hallows Eve on 31 October marked the end of the old Celtic calendar year,[citation needed] and on that night hollowed-out turnips, beets and rutabagas with candles inside them were placed on windowsills and porches[citation needed] to welcome home the spirits of deceased ancestors and ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called "Stingy Jack," hence the name "Jack-o-lantern". On Halloween night, Linus Van Pelt of the comic strip Peanuts waits in a pumpkin patch for "the Great Pumpkin", a fictional pumpkin with many of Santa Claus's characteristics, which seems to exist only in his imagination.