round like the true cucumber; but in everything else 
they differ sharply, for the color is not green but mur- 
rey, yellow or white; they are not spiny or rough, but 
quite smooth. Their taste is very unlike and very su- 
perior, for when they are wholly ripe they have a very 
agreeable bitter-sweet flavour, but not so strong as that 
of the pineapple. They are succulent, fresh and easy to 
digest. They refresh one well during the hot weather; 
the skin, which is tender, is peeled off; all the rest is 
pulp. They grow in warm climates and need irrigation, 
Although because of their shape they are called pepinos, 
many of them are wholly round, and there are others of 
different shapes; so even in their figure they are not 
really like true cucumbers. This plant I do not remem- 
ber having seen in New Spain [ Mexico] nor on the islands 
[Caribbean], but only on the plains of Peru’’ (Acosta, 
1940, 275-276; Acosta, 1954, 113). 
Amongst the common fruits of the plains of Trujillo, 
Peru, Vazquez de Espinosa included the pepino, adding: 
“(The Indian village of Mansiche is a quarter league from 
the city, with delicious vegetables and fruit, particularly 
Peruvian cucumbers; these are of many kinds and | varie- 
ties; those from this village [have the reputation all over 
the Kingdom of] being the best in Peru [since they are 
among the best and most delicious]. The plant resembles 
a pepper plant, but the leaf is smaller and more elabo- 
rate [in its color and the [—] of its shape] is like a tomato 
leaf. [The cucumber] is [there are] of many sorts—pur- 
ple [likewise there are] yellow and white (Marg. : and of 
other colors), and they are very smooth. They must be 
ripe when eaten for when green [they are worth nothing] 
they are no good; they come long, round and in [many ] 
other shapes, small and large. They taste very good when 
fully ripe; they are very juicy and refreshing, and are 
good for the kidneys and digestion; you peel off the skin, 
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