As with all squash varieties, courgettes have their origins in North and Central America, but the green, cylindrical summer squashes that we know and love today were not developed until the second half of the 19th century by growers in northern Italy. These Italian origins led to the other popular name, zucchini (Italian for 'little marrow'), which is still widely used in much of Europe and the US. In the UK, the term courgette is derived from the French ‘courge’, for gourd or marrow.Courgettes are actually compact bush marrows grown exclusively for their immature fruits, which crop over a long period if harvested regularly. Leave plants unharvested and the fruits will swell to marrow size but the cropping window and overall yield is greatly reduced.Continued breeding has removed some of the less attractive traits of older varieties. Modern F1 varieties such as 'Endurance', 'Firenze' and 'Tuscany' have very few spines on the leaf stems, making picking easier. Others such as 'Alfresco' and 'Shooting Star' have a higher dry matter content than older types, for better flavour and texture, and a longer storage life. 'Shooting Star' is also the first climbing variety to produce yellow fruit.
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