References to Winter Squash in ancient Ayurvedic texts

Common winter squashes are herewith:

Acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Amber squash
Ambercup squash (Cucurbita maxima)
Arikara squash (Cucurbita maxima)
Atlantic Giant (Cucurbita maxima)
Autumn cup squash
Banana squash (Cucurbita maxima; also called Pink Banana squash)
Buttercup squash (Cucurbita maxima)
Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata)
Calabaza
Carnival squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Cushaw (also called "winter crookneck squash")
Delicata squash (Cucurbita pepo; also called Peanut squash)
Gem squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Georgia candy roaster (Cucurbita maxima)
Giraumon
Gold nugget squash (also called "golden nugget squash")
Heart of gold squash (Cucurbita pepo; a hybrid of acorn squash and sweet dumpling squash)
Hubbard squash (Cucurbita maxima)
Jarrahdale pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima)
Kabocha (Cucurbita maxima)
Lakota squash (Cucurbita maxima)
Long Island cheese squash (Cucurbita moschata)
Marina di Chioggia
Mooregold squash (Cucurbita maxima)
Queensland blue pumpkin
Red kuri squash (also called "Hokkaido squash," "orange Hokkaido squash," or "baby red Hubbard squash")[1]
Rouge vif d'Estampes (also spelled Rouge vif d'Etamps)
Spaghetti squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Sugar loaf squash
Sweet dumpling squash (also called "dumpling squash"; Cucurbita pepo)
Turban squash (Cucurbita maxima)

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_squash

References from Ayurvedic Texts:

In Astanga Sangraha Sutrasthana 7/ 133, acharya mentions one vegetable called Karkaru, which can be taken as Cucurbita pepo.

The qualities of this vegetable are:

• Alleviator of kapha and vata.
• malabedhaka( mild purgative), vishtambhi(wind forming), abhishyandi(which obstructs the channels of circulation).
• Its taste(rasa) and taste after digestion(vipaka) is sweet(madhura)
• Guna is guru(heavy).

In Bhavaprakasha nighantu, he explains about Kushmanda and Kushmandi, where the Kushmandi is also called as Karkaru and the botanical name is Cucurbita pepo.

The qualities of unripe fruit are:

• Grahi(constipative)
• Sheeta (cold) in potency
• Good for controlling raktapitta(bleeding disorders).
• Its guna is guru(heavy).

The Qualities of ripe fruit are:

• Taste is Tikta(bitter)
• Alleviator of kapha and vata.
• Has kshaara guna(alkaline).
• It is agni janaka(digestive stimulant).

The commentator of Bhavaprakasha nighntu says that there are two more verities available . One is Cucurbeta maxima and second is Cucurbita moschata. The ripe pulp of C. maxima will be dark yellowish or reddish in co lour and the seeds are whitish in colour.

Cucurbeta Maxima

The seeds of C. moschata are light yellowish in colour with dark yellow on the sides. The qualities of both fruits are same as C. pepo (Kushmandi or Karkaru).

Cucurbeta Moschata

In Madanapala Nighantu we can find a vegetable named Karkaru or aphala or kandi. The botanical name is Cucurbita maxima. Its qualities are:

Seed:

• Taste: Not sweet in excess
• Alleviates kapha and vata.
• Cure ashmari(stones).

Pulp:

• Sweet in taste
• Alleviator of pitta.
• Vrishya(aphrodisiac), bastishodhana(Cleanses urinary bladder).

He explains one more vegetable named Rajakarkati or Aaru. Its qualities match with the qualities of the vegetable explained by Vagbhata and Bhavamishra. The commentator Vaidya Bhagavan Das has taken it as Cucumis sativus.

Qualities of Raja karkati are:

Unripe fruit:

Attribute: heavy

Potency: cold

Action: Grahi( constipative)

Cures rakta pitta(bleeding disorders)

Ripe fruit:

• Digestive stimulant
• Alleviates kapha and vata
• It is alkaline.
• It vitiates pitta.

In Charaka and Sushruta there are explanations of other vegetables of Cucurbitaceae family, but as their external features or morphology are not explained anywhere it is difficult to correlate.