The zucchini are the fruit of a herbaceous plant, native to Central and Southern America. It grows in the form of an erect bush, practically without stem, with very wide, toothed, and slightly thorny leaves. Zucchini are mostly elongated berries, sometimes round, of a more or less intense green color depending on the variety. They ripen between spring and summer (today, however, thanks to greenhouse crops and imports, they can be found on the market all year round), they have a shiny skin and whitish pulp, rich in water and seeds.

The best-known Italian varieties of courgettes are the "Verde di Milano" with uniformly colored skin, firm pulp, and elongated fruit, and "La Striata d'Italia" with peel furrowed with light streaks and long and thin berry. There are also many types of courgette with regional diffusion such as the «Ligurian trombetta», the «romanesca», the «rigata pugliese». They make excellent side dishes and soups, they can be fried, sautéed, stuffed, and baked in the oven, used for pies and savory pies.