Topic: Triamble squash - differences in form?

[earlypea]

I've been curious ever since mine started developing.  It was instantly obvious that they do not resemble the smooth, tri-lobed squash as shown in Amy Goldman's "Compleat Squash".  If you look at the pictures on rareseeds

http://www.rareseeds.com/triamble-or-shamrock/?F_Keyword=Triamble

One photo has a deeply ribbed version and the other (which looks like it's been tampered with) is, again, smooth.

Mine are all very deeply ribbed, you might think they were a cross between the smooth Triamble version and a Queensland Blue.

If I look around the web, I'd say 90% of examples look ribbed (like mine), very few smooth.

Why are there these differences?  Has the variety become crossed along the way somewhere?  Is it the conditions they are grown under?    Is there a particular strain that some people are using? Actually, which is the right form?  They look like two different squashes to me.

Yes, I'm very curious.  Does anyone know anything?

[galina]

Nothing about triamble in particular, as i have not grown them.  The one time I have seen them in a display garden, they looked smooth and had 3 lobes as you would expect.  Less smooth on maxima can be a sign of maturity. 

What I do know is that maxima squash defy expectations of uniformity, they are really only slightly uniform.  And there are big differences between the various stages of development. 

It is often illuminating to check out google images, same squash from various sources:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=triamble+squash&rlz=1C1VSNC_enGB564CR571&espv=2&biw=1093&bih=514&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3In1gva8yAIVgbqACh2IvwTW

What do you think?   

[saddad]

When I grew it a couple of years ago it was ribbed...   

[earlypea]

Hi Galina

I don't think it's just a sign of maturity.  I often use google via a photo search - gives more interesting options.

From that I noticed that it doesn't matter which climate the grower is in (so I'm assuming if you grow them in Australia they'll be very mature) - the overwhelming majority of Triambles are ribbed.

Looking at those and comparing with the very rare smooth examples I'm still left wondering........