Pumpkin and zucchini are not the same kind of plant. Zucchini, also known as Pupu, Zhangzi, Mei, etc., is a cucurbit vegetable that was introduced to China in the early days of cultivation, and belongs to the annual plant. Its fruits are of various shapes, which can be oblate, oblong or girdled, with white and fleshy flesh. When immature, the fruit is tender green, and when mature, the flesh is dry and the skin is hard and yellow-brown, with the downy hairs on the surface gradually disappearing and the skin hard. The stems of the cucumber are generally thicker and have distinctive grooves, making it suitable for picking the young fruits as a dish.

In contrast, zucchini has different characteristics. It has thick stems and cylindrical, smaller shaped fruits with smooth surfaces. Zucchini is a crop that relies primarily on insect pollination, and without insect visits, they may degrade on their own. However, zucchini can grow normally as long as the bees perform seven to eight pollinations. Not only does bee pollination help zucchini grow, it also extends the shelf life of the product and reduces the risk of plant rot.

In terms of classification, the type of fruit of the melon divides the cucurbit into a variety of types such as jug cucurbit and lady's mantle cucurbit, while zucchini is not specifically categorized. The origin is centered in tropical Asia and North Africa. It is worth noting that among the cucurbits there is also a distinction between large and small zucchini, with the large zucchini being used for food and the small zucchini being used primarily as an ornamental plant.

So, although they both belong to the cucurbit family, cucurbits and zucchini are different in form, use, and pollination needs, and should not be confused as the same plant.