Cucumis
(etymology of name obscure). Cucumber. ORD. Cucurbitaceae. A well-known genus of half-hardy trailing annuals or perennials. Flowers monoecious. Males in fascicles, rarely solitary; calyx tube turbinate or campanulate; limb five-lobed; corolla sub-campanulate, deeply five-lobed; stamens three, free. Females solitary. Fruit three to six-celled. The seed of all the species require to be sown on a hotbed in spring, and the seedlings should be planted out, when large enough to handle. See also Cucumber, Melon. &c.
C. Anguria (Anguria). fl. usually solitary. June to August. fr. white, globose, echinated. l. palmately sinuated, cordate at the base, scabrous. Stems rather slender; tendrils simple. Jamaica, 1692. C. Citrullus. See Citrullus vulgaris.
C. Colooynthis. See Citrullus Colocynthis.
C. Hookeri (Hooker's). fl. yellow. fr. brownish-purple, marked with white bands, ovoid-cylindrical. l. deeply five-lobed; lobes obtuse, crenulately-denticulate. Tropical Africa, 1870.
C. Melo (Melon). fl., males: tube of calyx rather ventricose at the base, and rather dilated at the apex; stamens inclosed; anthers shorter than their connectives. Females: calyx and corolla as in the male; stigmas three to four, shortly two-lobed. fr. ovate or sub-globose, eight to twelve-furrowed; flesh sugary, yellow, red, or white. July. l. roundish, angular, petiolate. Stem trailing, scabrous, cirrhiferous. Asia, 1570. For special detailed culture, see Melon.
C. perennis. See Cucurbita perennis.
C. sativus (cultivated). Common Cucumber. fl. on short peduncles, large, usually in threes. July to September. fr. generally elongated, smooth or prickly, and usually shining. l. cordate, obscurely five-lobed, petiolate; terminal lobe the largest. Stems rough, bearing tendrils. Native place unknown. 1573. Cultivated in all warm countries. For cultivation and list of varieties, see Cucumber.
C. s. sikkimensis (Sikkim). fl. yellow. July. fr. reddish-brown, densely reticulated with pale yellow, large, singular in form, and ripening in July and August. Eastern Himalayas, 1875. This is one of the most remarkable varieties of the common Cucumber known, and was first botanically noticed by Sir Joseph Hooker, in 1848. In its native country, it is sold in the markets, and eaten both raw and cooked. (B. M. 6206.) Other species are often cultivated, more from their curious fruit than from any particularly ornamental merit; among these are C. dipsaceus and C. metuliferus.