Cucumis sativus

Annual climbing vine growing to 2 m. Frost tender, hardy to UK zone 10. Flowers July to September with seeds ripening August to October. Monoecious with insect pollination and self-fertile. Tolerates sandy, loamy, or clay soils with good drainage and mildly acid to basic pH. Requires full sun and prefers moist soil.

Description

A pumpkin family plant. It is a hairy annual climber with tendrils and yellow flowers. It grows to 0.5 m high and spreads to 2 m wide. The stem is trailing and has bristles. The leaves are heart shaped and the lobes taper. Leaf shape varies with different varieties. The tendrils are not branched. The flowers are yellow and funnel shaped. They occur in clusters in the axils of leaves. Male and female flowers are separate but on the same plant. Male flowers are normally in groups of 2-3 and develop first and female flowers are borne singly and open later. Fruit are long and often with a slightly lumpy skin. The flesh inside is greenish white. The fruit are edible. The fruit contain many seeds. Fruit 20-100 cm long are called cucumbers and fruit which are much smaller and darker green are called gherkins.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten raw or cooked and is a common salad ingredient, valued mainly for its crisp texture and juiciness. It is very watery with little flavour and limited nutritional value; many people find it indigestible due to its high cellulose content. Fruit size varies widely between cultivars and can reach up to 1 metre long. Outdoor-grown plants typically produce from mid summer until early autumn. Seeds can be eaten raw; they are rich in oil with a nutty flavour, though small and covered with a fibrous coat, making them fiddly to prepare. Young leaves and stems can be cooked as a potherb. An oil extracted from the seed is said to resemble olive oil and is used in salad dressings and French cooking; it contains 22.3% linoleic acid, 58.5% oleic acid, 6.8% palmitic acid, and 3.7% stearic acid.

Traditional Uses

Usually unripe fruit are eaten raw. Young stem tops and leaves are edible. The kernels of the seeds are edible. They are also roasted. The seeds can be pounded and added to other dishes. The seeds can be pressed for oil. Cucumbers are normally eaten fresh while gherkins are pickled in vinegar.

Medicinal Uses

Leaf juice is emetic and is used to treat dyspepsia in children. The fruit is depurative, diuretic, emollient, purgative, and resolvent. Fresh fruit is used internally for blemished skin and heat rash, and externally as a poultice for burns and sores, as well as cosmetically to soften the skin. The seed is cooling, diuretic, tonic, and vermifuge; a standard vermifuge dose is 25–50 grams of thoroughly ground seeds including the seed coat, which usually needs to be followed by a purgative to expel worms. A decoction of the root is diuretic.

Known Hazards

The sprouting seed produces a toxic substance in its embryo.

Distribution

A subtropical plant. It occurs from sea level up to at least 2200 m in the tropics. It is a traditional vegetable in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Protection from wind is needed. It is killed by frost. It needs a temperature above 10°C. In Nepal they grow to 1600 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Albania, Amazon, Andorra, Angola, Asia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Balkans, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Bougainville, Brazil, Britain, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Central Asia, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial-Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, Finland, FSM, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Poland, Romania, Rotuma, Russia, Rwanda, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Scandinavia, SE Asia, Serbia, Seychelles, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Türkiye, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, West Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a warm very sunny position. A frost-tender plant, the cucumber is commonly cultivated for its edible fruit, there are many named varieties. Many of these varieties are only suitable for protected cropping in Britain though there are a number that have been specifically bred for cool temperate areas and these succeed outdoors in most summers. Many of the cultivars, especially the greenhouse forms, should have their male flowers removed in order to prevent fertilization, since the fertilized fruits have a bitter taste. A number of cultivars have been developed that only produce female flowers. Cucumbers make good companion plants for sweet corn, beans and sunflowers, but they dislike growing with potatoes and aromatic herbs. The roots of cucumber plants secrete a substance that inhibits the growth of most weeds.

Propagation

Sow seed in early to mid spring in a greenhouse in rich soil; germination should occur within 2 weeks. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per pot and thin to the strongest plant. Grow on quickly and plant out after the last expected frosts, providing cloche or frame protection for at least the first few weeks if growing outdoors.

Other Uses

Cucumber skins have been shown to repel cockroaches in laboratory experiments. The fruit is applied to the skin as a cleansing cosmetic to soften and whiten it, and the juice is used in many beauty products. An oil is obtained from the seed.

Production

Harvesting can commence 6-8 weeks after sowing. Up to 10 fruit per plant can be produced.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. A common and well liked vegetable throughout Papua New Guinea.

Notes

There are about 25 Cucumis species.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Adai, Badrang, Bonteng, Dosakaya, Huang-kwa, Kakri, Kakrikai, Kankra, Kankro, Ketimun, Khira, Kikposi, K'it'ri, Kiuhri, Kokombra, Kokumba, Kuikaba, Kukaba, Kukama, Kukamba, Kyuuro, Meki, Mekkha, Melu, Morokyu, Mukku, Ogurec, Oi, Pepino, Pipinya, Setimun, Shosha, Sukasa, Taeng-kwa, Teng ran, Timun, Vellarikkai, Wasagu, Wong kwa

References (99)

• Ali, A. M. S., 2005, Homegardens in Smallholder Farming Systems: Examples from Bangladesh. Human Ecology, Vol. 33, No. 2 pp. 245-270
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 149
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 208
• Ara, R. I. T., 2015, Leafy Vegetables in Bangladesh. Photon eBooks. p 164
• Barrau, J., 1976, Subsistence Agriculture in Melanesia. Bernice P. Bishop Museu, Bulletin 219 Honolulu Hawaii. Kraus reprint. p 55

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