The bright orange lower half is often streaked with green and topped with a hat-like, knobbly green topknot. The fruit is handsome and it makes good eating with a taste similar to butternut squash.
Sow two seeds to a 10cm pot in late spring in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Pot on seedlings as they grow, then harden off carefully and plant out in a sunny, sheltered spot once all threat of frost has passed. Leave 30cm between each plant and protect from slugs. Leave squash to colour up on the plant. Once it sounds hollow when knocked, it's ripe: after this it will store in a cool, dark, dry place for several months.