Male squash flower

Did you know that squash plants produce two sexes of flowers on them, and only the female flowers actually produce edible “fruit”?

Here are some pix of a volunteer squash plant’s flowers – on the same vine – female and male.

The female flower has the more complex “inards” (pix w. hand), while the male is more simple (pix w. ruler).

Female flowers that are pollinated successfully will produce squash just below the flower on the vine where it is attached (see image w.out hand or ruler); male flowers will wilt and fall off, leaving only a stem.

[Images: BR]

Female squash flower

Female squash flower with fruit