Herbal cure

Today's nature discussion is on the plant called Cucurbita pepo. It is known in English as Pumpkin and in Akwa Ibom state, the South-South part of Nigeria in West Africa,it is locally known as Ndise. DESCRIPTION Cucurbita pepo, which encompasses summer squashes including zucchini, yellow crookneck, pattypan, and spaghetti, as well as some types of winter squash and pumpkin (Delicata squash, autumn pumpkin), is a frost-intolerant annual plant in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). Native to Mexico and North America, it is now widely cultivated in warm areas worldwide as a food and animal fodder. Its leaves are more or less round with five deep lopes and serrated edges. It has a solid dark green or yellow-green or with grey-green markings. MEDICINAL USES 1. It is used to treat and heal fire burns on skin. In case of any incidence of fire burns, large quantities of the leaves is squeezed and the chlorophyll extract from the leaves is applied to the burns for rapid healing.