Butternut squash or Giant pumpkin: how to tell them apart?
Butternut squash and Giant pumpkin look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Butternut squash
Cucurbita moschata
Giant pumpkin
Cucurbita maxima
Butternut squash has a hard, angular stalk that flares markedly into a star shape at the junction with the fruit; the giant pumpkin has a soft, spongy, cylindrical stalk, without angles and without clear flaring.
🍃 Leaves
Large, rounded with 5 faint lobes, slightly downy
Very large, rounded, soft, unlobed or only slightly lobed, covered in soft hairs
🌸 Flowers
Large, orange-yellow, trumpet-shaped; monoecious plant
Large, yellow-orange, trumpet-shaped; monoecious plant (separate male and female flowers)
🍎 Fruits
Elongated pear-shaped fruit, beige-orange skin, dense, sweet orange flesh with a musky flavour
Very large round, flattened fruit, smooth skin, dense, sweet orange flesh
🪵 Bark
Angular, hairy trailing stem
Trailing stem, cylindrical and soft (unlike the courgette, whose stem is angular)
📏 Size
Trailing stems of several metres
Trailing stems several metres long
🗺️ Habitat
Grown in open fields, rich soils
Grown in open fields, rich, free-draining soils
⚠️ Toxicity
Fruit edible; no known toxicity
Fruit edible; no known toxicity
🔎 And from the Giant pumpkin side
The pumpkin has a soft, spongy, cylindrical fruit stalk, without angles and without a distinct flare; the butternut squash has a hard, angular fruit stalk clearly flaring into a star shape where it joins the fruit.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.