Cucurbita spp.
Squash blossoms are lightly floral, soft, and edible; both male and female flowers can be eaten. They are the flower of the same plants that give us summer and winter squash.1
Further notes
Female flowers have a small, fleshy ovary behind the bloom; this is the beginning of the squash fruit. Male flowers supply pollen.2
A useful distinction
The female flower is the one already carrying a miniature squash. That small swelling is the simplest way to tell the two flower types apart.2
Footnotes
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University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Edible Flowers: Pretty in Your Garden and a Culinary Delight,” accessed July 17, 2026. ↩
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University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Maine Home Garden Newsletter — May 2026,” 2026. ↩ ↩2