Zucchini is summer squash, a vegetable.

• botanical information
• origin
• history
• nutritional information
• storage
• magick correspondences and uses
• Chinese herbology
• cautions and contraindications

botanical information:

    Botanical name: Cucurbita pepo

    Common name: courgette (parts of Europe), garden marrow, ltalian squash, ong marrow, vegetable marrow (Britain), zucchini (Italy, U.S.), zucchini squash

    Use the botanical name when ordering seeds (bulbs, etc.) or when looking up information in the library. Common names vary by nation, culture, and region, and sometimes the same common name is applied to different plants.

origin:

    Origin: Derived from summer squash of Central America (grown by 5500 B.C.E.). Italians in Milan developed zucchini in the late 1800s and gave it its name.

history:

    History: Italians in Milan developed zucchini in the late 1800s and gave it its name. Zucchini became popular among Italian immigrants in the Los Angeles area after the end of World War I. Zucchini is now more popular than all other forms of squash combined.

nutritional information:

    Nutrition: Zucchini is high in beta-carotene (vitamin A, a natural antioxidant), folic acid, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Minerals include potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, copper, and zinc. Zucchini seeds contain traces of protease trypsin inhibitors, a cancer-preventing substance that inhibits activation of viruses and carcinogens in the digestive tract.

    One-half cup serving of boiled zucchini has 18 calories, 0.3 grams of fat, 1.0 mg of sodium, 0.8 grams of protein, 3.9 grams of carbohydrate, and 1.3 grams of dietary fiber.

    See also Chinese herbalism below for Chinese gender and Chinese flavor.

   

storage:

    Storage: Eat zucchini within five days of purchase.

magickal correspondences and uses:

    Gender: feminine (traditional western European magickal gender)

Chinese herbalism:

    Chinese gender: yin (cool)

cautions and contraindications:

    Non-toxic to animals: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control Center has determined that zucchini squash “has not been reported as having systemic effects on animals or as having intense effects on the gastrointestinal tract.” —ASPCA

See also: squash and gourd.

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