408 



CUCUMIS 



oal species, mostly African and East Indian. Tlie cult, 

 species are annual. Monogr. by Cogniaux, DC. Monogr. 

 Piianer. 3. See, also, Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. (Bot.) IV. 

 11:9; 12:108. 



A. Fr. smooth (not spiny nor tuiereulaie) at' maturity. 

 M^Io, Linn. [G. Momdrdiea, Eoxb. O. utilissimus, 

 Eoxb.). Melon. Muskmblon. Figs. 586, 587. Long-run- 

 ning, hairy, prickly : Ivs. round-heart-shaped or reni- 

 form, sometimes rounded-lobed : fr. in many sizes and 

 shapes, the inner part being edible. S. Asia.— When 

 forced under glass, the Ivs. are usually more lobed. See 

 Melon. 



Var.Cantalup^nslB, Nand. Cantaloupe. Rock Melons. 

 Fruits mostly hard-rinded, more or less warty, scaly or 

 rough, often deeply furrowed or grooved.— Name de- 

 rived from Cantaluppi, near Rome, a former country 

 seat of the Pope, whither this type of melons was brought 

 from Armenia. In the U. S. the word Cantaloupe is often 

 used as a generic name for Muskmelon, but it is prop- 

 erly a name of only one group of muskmelons— the hard 

 and scaly-rinded (see Waugh, G. F. 8:183). 



Var. reticuiatus, Naud. Nutmeg or Netted Melons. 

 Fruits softer rinded, more or less netted, or sometimes 

 almost plain or smooth. — Comprises the common musk- 

 melons, aside from Cantaloupes. 



Var. saccharinus, Naud. Pineapple Melons. Com- 

 prising varieties of oblong shape and very sweet flesh. 

 Not sufficiently distinct from the last. 



Var. inoddms, Naud. Winter Melons. Lvs. lighter 

 colored, less hairy, narrower ; frs. possessing little or 

 none of the common muskmelon odor, and keeping long. 

 The winter muskmelons are little known in this country, 

 although they are worthy of popularity. Much cult, in 

 parts of the Mediterranean region. See Bull. 96, Cor- 

 nell Exp. Sta. 



Var. flexuflsus, Naud. (C. tUxubsus, Linn.). Snake 

 Melon. Snake Cucumbee. Pr. many times longer 

 than broad, greenish at maturity, variously curved and 

 furrowed. A. G. 14: 203.-Fr. often 2-3 ft. long, and 1-3 

 in. in diameter. Grown 

 mostly as an oddity, but 

 it is useful for the mak- 

 ing of conserves. The hard- 

 shelled Snake Gourd is a 

 Lagenaria {which see). 



591. Fruit of Cucumis Anguria. 



Var. acidulus, Naud. Cuoumbeb Melon. Frs. oblong 

 or cylindrical, mottled or unicolored, the flesh white and 

 cucumber-flavored. No varieties in the Amer. trade are 

 of this group, but they are occasionally seen in botanical 

 gardens and experimental grounds, which import seeds 

 of oriental plants. 



Var. Chlto, Naud. (G. CMto, Morr.). Orange Melon. 

 Mango Melon. Melon Apple. Vine Peach. Garden 



CUCUMIS 



Lemon. Vbgetablb Orange. Vine less robust than 

 that of the Muskmelon, and lvs. smaller : fr. size, shape 

 and color of an orange or lemon, without markings, with 

 a white or pale yellow cucumber-like flesh, with no musk- 

 melon odor.— Not edible in its natural state, but useful 

 for the making of preserves (or"mangoes") and pickles. 

 Name pronounced keeto. Cf. Bull. 

 15, Cornell Exp. Sta.; A. G. 14:206. 

 Var. SMaim, Naud. {G. DAdaim, 

 Linn. G. odoratissimus, Mrenoh). 

 DuDAnsi Melon. Pomegranate 

 Melon. Queen Anne's Pocket 

 Melon. Vine small, as in the last: 

 fr. size and shape of an orange, some- 

 what flattened at the ends, very reg- 

 ular and smooth, marbled with longi- 

 tudinal markings of oinnamon-hrown 

 overlying yellow, exceedingly fragrant.— A most hand- 

 some gourd-like fruit, and highly and delioiously per- 

 fumed. Not eaten. A nearly odorless and scarlet-rinded 

 form is separated by Naudin as var. eryt}ir<eus . 



AA. Fruit spiny or tuberculate. 

 sativus, Linn. Cucumber. Figs. 588, 589. Long- 

 running, prickly : lvs. usually 3-lobed ( or strongly 

 angled), the middle lobe most prominent and often 

 pointed: fr. prickly or muricate, at least when young, 

 but in some varieties becoming smooth, mostly oblong, 

 the flesh white. S. Asia. See Gucumber. 



592. Young turban Squash, on which the remains 



of the corolla still persist. 



The central part of the fruit is the ovary. 



Var. Anglicus, Figs. 584, 585. English or Forcing 

 Cucumber. A product of cultivation and selection, 

 within the last century (see Forcing-Book, pp. 192-4), 

 distinguished from the common or field Cucumbers as 

 follows: fruits (and ovaries) very long and slender, little 

 if any furrowed, spineless or nearly so at maturity, 

 nearly or quite green at maturity, comparatively few- 

 seeded: fls. very large: lvs. very broad in proportion to 

 their length, with shallower sinuses : vines very vig- 

 orous, with long and thick tendrils. 



Var. Sikkim^nsis, Hook.f., cult, in the Himalayan 

 Mts., but not known to be in'this country; has large 7-9- 

 lobed lvs. and cylindrical-club-shaped fr. B.M. 6206. 



dlp3S.oeus, Ehr. (G. erin&ceus, Hort.), DiPSACEOUS 

 Gourd. Ostrioh-Egq Gourd. Hedgehog Gourd. 

 Plant and foliage like that of G. Mela; fls. long- 

 stalked: fr. 1-2 in. long, oblong or nearly spherical, 

 becoming hard and dry, densely beset with long scales 

 or hairs, and looking like a bur. Arabia, Afr. R.H. 

 1860, p. 210. Cult, as an ornamental Gourd. 



Angiiria, Linn. (G. grossularimf(!rmis,'SoTt.}. BuE 

 Cucumber.. West Indian Gherkin. Gooseberry 

 Gourd. Pigs. 590, 591. Stems slender, hispid : Ivs. 

 deeply cut into 3-5 narrow obovate or spatulate divisions. 



