[diospyros]

I'm asking this on behalf of someone else - he has a squash plant of some sort which has eNORmous female flowers and tiny little male ones.  The fruits have a sort of ring shaped scar where the huge flower has dropped off.  Anyone seen this before?

[jaydig]

It wouldn't be one of those 'Turk's Turban' type of squashes would it? The ones that look a bit like a cottage load shape. I'm sure someone on here will know, and be able to tell you exactly what it is, because I'm only guessing.

[mumofstig]

Yes, I've seen that before, and some squashes do have a scar, notably Buttercup variaties

[diospyros]

Yes, that's like the scar, couldn't remember what the variety was called I'd seen like that.  Didn't know it went along with sexual dimorphism of the flowers though!  Thanks!

[mumofstig]

I've seen some cucumbers also do the big female/small male flower thing 

[beesrus]

It sort of reflects the female/male allotmenteer make-up on our site. There's a lot of males, but most, not all, are a little wizand. 
As far as squashes are concerned, butternuts are similar, but without the scar, the female flowers are where it's at, the males are titchy and two a penny. I do find it all fascinating. Probably why I like sweet corn, where both male and female shows are quite splendid.

[JohnB47]

I'm taking more notice of my crown prince squash this year and see that there are loads of femail flower stems and few males - all the same size flower. I'm trying that trick of transferring pollen from femail to mail using a paintbrush, cos I already have two male fruit gone yellow and dropped off (presumably from being not polinated). The problem is getting a male flower just ready at the same time as a pollen filled femail is available.

[mumofstig]

I'm taking more notice of my crown prince squash this year and see that there are loads of femail flower stems and few males - all the same size flower. I'm trying that trick of transferring pollen from femail to mail using a paintbrush, cos I already have two male fruit gone yellow and dropped off (presumably from being not polinated). The problem is getting a male flower just ready at the same time as a pollen filled femail is available.

The pollen is transferred from the male to the female.
The females have the baby fruit behind the flowers.
I find it much easier to actually pick an open male flower and insert it into the female, and twiddle it around a bit - it sounds rude but does work 

[Aunt Sally]

My father used to do that with the marrows. 

He always tore the flower petal (yellow part) off to make "the job" easier 

[JayG]

I always worry that I might have picked the last male flower the plant decides to produce for a while, so use the artist's paintbrush technique (it works fine if you dampen it slightly to help the pollen stick to it, and it also amuses the hell out of my neighbours for some reason!    )