620 BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



6. Cucumber Melon {Cucumis melo var. acidulus). — Of no 

 economic importance. 



7. Orange Melon, Mango Melon, Melon Apple, Vine Peach, 

 Garden Lemon, Vegetable Orange {Cucumis melo var. chito) . — 

 Used in making preserves. 



8. Dudaim Melon, Pomegranate Melon, Queen Anne's 

 Pocket Melon {Cucumis melo var. dudaim). — Inedible. 



CUCUMIS SATIVUS (Cucumber) 



Description. — This is an annual plant with rough, hispid 

 stems which reach a length of 6 to 15 feet, and are somewhat 

 branching. The leaves are subcordate, almost as wide as 

 long, and somewhat five-lobed. The corolla is yellow. 

 There is a general impression that the cucumber can be 

 crossed with the melon. Experiments have shown that this 

 crossing is impossible. The fruit is oblong, obscurely three- 

 angled, tuberculate when young, but often becoming smooth 

 (in cultivated forms) at maturity. 



Geographical. — Cucumbers have been in cultivation for 3,000 or 4,000 

 years. They were first cultivated in Asia. The species has not been found 

 growing wild. 



Closely Related Forms. — There are a number of "cucum- 

 bers" which may be confused (at least in name) with the 

 common cucumber {Cucumis sativus). Chief of these are 

 the snake cucumber {Cucumis melo var. flexuosus), West 

 Indian gherkin .{Cucumis anguria), musk cucumber {Cucumis 

 moschata), and star cucumber {Sicyos angulatus). The snake 

 cucumber is in reality a melon. It is characterized by the 

 long, narrow, twisted fruit. In the West Indian gherkin the 

 stems are shorter and the fruit much smaller than those of 

 the cucumber. It is a common practice to use young cucum- 

 bers as gherkins. The musk cucumber is also a melon. The 



