THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Pumpkin

Lisa Karen Miller

          In 2017, a Washington farmer grew a pumpkin that tipped the scales at 2,400 pounds. Competition among growers of giant pumpkins in the United States has reached unprecedented levels.  Humungous specimens that must be weighed on special scales are being bred purely for such contests.

          That’s a lot of pie.

          That’s also America for you: nothing succeeds like excess. Circleville, Ohio is now hailed as the world’s pumpkin capitol.

          The seeds of Cucurbita pepo, a cultivar of winter squash, improve if kept for seven magic years.  Technically a fruit, pumpkin is commonly considered a vegetable.

          Many American Indian tribes used the flesh, flowers, and seeds as food.  The seeds were also used to treat intestinal parasites. A paste made of ground seeds cleansed and softened the skin. A leaf decoction soothed upset stomachs.

          The seeds are high in fiber, protein, and magnesium and are easy to roast. Wash and remove any flesh from them, toss with melted butter and a pinch of salt, spread thinly on a baking sheet, then bake 45 minutes at 300 degrees.

          Carving faces on pumpkins and lighting them for Halloween descends from the Irish tradition of Stingy Jack.  Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him.  Of course, being stingy, he didn’t want to pay for it, so he convinced Old Nick to turn himself into a coin to buy their drinks.  Instead, Jack put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from reappearing in the flesh. 

          Eventually, Jack released him. The next year, Jack tricked the Devil into climbing a tree.  He carved a cross into the tree’s bark so he couldn’t come down again. He kept him up there until the Devil promised not to bother him for ten more years. 

          When Stingy Jack finally died, God didn’t want that rascal in heaven, and the Devil had promised not to take him to hell. He sent him off with only a burning coal to light his way.  Jack stuck it into a carved-out turnip, and has been wandering the earth ever since.

          People began carving “Jack of the lantern” into turnips or beets (pumpkins in America) to keep evil spirits away on All Hallows Eve. They also kept witches at bay and prevented the dead from walking.

          Of course, they had to devise a use for all of that flesh.

          The British laugh at us for adding sugar to these orange monsters, but what would fall be without pumpkin pie?

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller