Origin: North America

Etymology: From the Algonquin Indian words askoot asquash, meaning “to eat green.” 

An annual plant with trailing stems, of the Cucurbitaceae family. Unlike summer squash, its skin is hard and inedible.

Weighing 5 to 7 pounds, it is round in shape and grows sometimes with a very distinctive protruding ring around the flower end, opposite the stem end. Dark green with narrow gray or lighter green stripes, the outer skin surrounds a rich, sweet-flavored, somewhat nutty tasting orange flesh that is fine-grained, creamy textured and dense in consistency.