IIo SICYOS ANGULATUS. — STAR-CUCUMBER. 
slight rounding of the base of the leaf-blade, and the general 
circular outline formed by the mass of little “pepos,’ as some 
authors call the fruits of some of these Cucurbitaceous plants. 
As the branch departs from its heaviness with its growth, and 
presents a pleasing curve, its elegance is increased by the 
slender tendrils gracefully twisting, and gently decreasing the 
diameter of their spiral coils till they terminate in a fine silk- 
like thread. Indeed, for a gradual blending of straight lines 
with curves, of heaviness with lightness, and of strength with 
elegance, this illustration of the “star-cucumber” can scarcely 
be surpassed, and will afford an interesting lesson to those to 
whom beauty is a science. 
Then there are a few points worth noting by those who are 
interested in the literary history of plants. Our subject seems 
to have been known to some of the earlier botanists, and Tourne- 
fort, the predecessor of Linnzeus in the work of botanical reform, 
placed it in the genus Szcoyordes—meaning, like the cucumber— 
sicyos (or sycios, according to Nuttall and others) being 
“cucumber” to the ancient Greeks. Linnzus established a 
rule that no adjective terminations should be allowed in generic 
names, and hence the last part was cut off, leaving Szcyos only. 
The explanation may be of service, as when the student is simply 
told that the name “is the ancient name of the cucumber,” he 
would be led to wonder what relation our plant bore to the 
cucumber of the olden time. Tournefort, in naming it S7coyordes, 
had doubtless nothing more in his mind than the great resem- 
blance which the leaves, stems, and tendrils bore to the common 
cucumber, a resemblance which is certainly very close. It is not 
quite clear what was the real cucumber of the ancients. The 
“lodge, in a garden of cucumbers,” of Isaiah and other scrip- 
tural references, are believed to relate rather to some kind of 
melon than to our modern cucumber. 
Passing from the foliage to the fruit we find very little here to 
remind us of its common family name. Instead of a large number 
of seeds in a succulent capsule, each little flower results in a single 
