Squash, n.  Bot. A plant and its fruit of the genus Cucurbita, or gourd kind.
 Note: ☞ The species are much confused. The long-neck squash is called Cucurbita verrucosa, the Barbary or China squash, Cucurbita moschata, and the great winter squash, Cucurbita maxima, but the distinctions are not clear.
 Squash beetle Zool., a small American beetle (Diabrotica vittata, syn. Galeruca vittata) which is often abundant and very injurious to the leaves of squash, cucumber, etc.  It is striped with yellow and black.  The name is applied also to other allied species.
 Squash bug Zool., a large black American hemipterous insect (Coreus tristis syn. Anasa tristis) injurious to squash vines.


 crook·neck n. Either of two varieties of squash, distinguished by their tapering, recurved necks. The summer crookneck is botanically a variety of the pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) and matures early in the season. It is pale yellow in color, with warty excrescences. The winter crookneck belongs to a distinct species (Cucurbita moschata) and is smooth and often striped. [U. S.]
 Syn: -- crookneck squash.

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 Cucurbita moschata
      n : any of various plants bearing squash having hard rinds and
          elongated recurved necks [syn: winter crookneck, {winter
          crookneck squash]