Cucumis. } CUCURBITACEE (Sond.) © . 495 
Leaves deeply 5-7-lobed, lobes lobulate and dentate ; 
flowers moneecious ; pepo ovoid... oe ... (5) dissectifolius. 
Leaves deeply 5-7-lobed, lobes linear, entire ; flowers 
: dicecious ; pepoovoid _.... ne ips ... (7) heptadactylus. 
Fruit pubescent or glabrous, not spinous or muricate (8) hirsutus. 
1, C. metuliferus (E. Meyer in herb. Drege); annual, branched, 
deeply green ; stem and branches angulate, hispid ; leaves long, petio- 
late, palmately sub-3-lobed, dentate, with cordate base ; lobes angulate, 
denticulate, the terminal acute, mucronate ; pepo oblong, bluntish- 
trigonous, at both ends obtuse, armed with thick, conical, sharp 
spines, Vaud. l. c. 10. . : 
Has. Omsamwubo, near the river, Drege. Feb. (Herb. Sd.) 
Branches long. Leaves 2—3 inches long and broad, or in the upper often longer 
than broad and more acute, with shorter, lateral lobes. Male flowers nearly as in 
C. Melo. Fruit of the wild specimens 4 inches long, 14-1} inch in diameter, with 
red spines, about 12-20 in a pepo, 3 inch long, terminated by a conical, very hard 
apex. Pulp pale green ; taste of that of C. sativus, (Naudin). Seeds 2} lines long. 
2. C. Africanus (Linn. fil. Suppl. 423); annual, green, scabrous every- 
where; branches angulate ; leaves deeply 3- or 5-lobed, lobes entire or 
sublobed, denticulate, as well as the sinus rotundate, middle lobe ob- 
ovate, longer than the lateral ones ; ovary oblong, muricate-echinate, on a 
slender peduncle ; pepo ovoid, densely beset with short, but sharp spines. 
Van. a, leaves mostly trilobed or the lateral ones 2-lobed. C. Africanus, Thunb./ 
jl. cap. 36. Drege herb. a, b,c. C. prophetarum d. herb. Drege, and b. partim. 
Van. B, leaves mostly 5-lobed, lateral lobes often deeply 2-lobed, the terminal 
sub-3-lobed. C. Africanus, E. § Z.! 1794. Naudin. Ll. ¢. 
Has. Var. a. on the Gariep, in the distr. of George and near Omtata, Drege ; Cale- 
don river, Zeyh. 584. Var. 8. Mount Winterberg, Caffirland, and in the gardens 
near Capetown, £. ¢ Z. and Dr. Pappe; Port Natal, Miss Owen. Sept.—Jan. 
(Herb. Hk. D. Sd.) : 
Stem much branched. Leaves on longish petioles, in var. a. 14-1} inch long, 
1-1} inch wide, the upper smaller ; in var. 8. 13-24 inches long, and very similar to 
those of C. Anguria, L. Male flowers fascicled, very small, much shorter than the 
hispid petiole; female flowers on lo peduncles. Fruit 14 inch long, } or nearly 
1 inch broad. Spines 2 lines long ; the ripe fruit sometimes denudate or only tuber- 
cled by the remaining base of the spines. Seeds nearly 2 lines long. C-. arenarius, 
Schrad. | E. & Z. |. 1795, founded on a si specimen, is a depauperated state of 
C. Africanus. C. arenarius, Arn. and P: in herb. Hook. is C. myriocarpus, Naud. 
C. arenarius, Schum. and Thom. } is a quite different plant ; the branches are hispid, 
tendrils very long, leaves about 2 inches long, 15 lines broad, bluntish-5-lobed, the 
ovate middle lobe 1 inch long, the four lateral ones short but equal ; the whole leaf 
on both sides subsilky by appressed hairs, a little hispid on the nerves beneath ; 
flowers very small, fascicled and short peduncles, the tube hirsute ; the fruit un- 
known. N. 4919 of Drege’s collection has some resemblance to this, but the flowers 
are much larger, the tendrils very short, and the branches pubescent. 
3. C. myriocarpus (Naudin.! 1. c. 22); annual, green, scabrous ; 
branches angulate-striate ; leaves long petiolate, palmately 3, 5, 7-lobed, 
lobes and sinus rotundate, middle lobe larger, hispidulous-scabrous be- 
neath ; ovary rowndish, densely muricate ; pepo subglobose, beset with 
weakly prickles, caducous; peduncle slender. C. prophetarum, Thunb.! 
fl. cap. 36. Jacq. hort. Vind. t. 9. Blackw. herb. t. 589. #. § Z./1793, 
and herb. Drege b. ex parte. C. Colocynthis a, herb. Thunb. 
