GOURD FAMILY 



CUCUMBER 



Cucumis sativus. 



Cucumis signifies a vessel; alluding to the rind of the fruit, which, 

 when the pulp is removed, forms a cup. Some would derive it from 

 the Celtic cucc, a hollow vessel. 



A trailing herbaceous annual, producing the common Cucumber of 

 the market. 



iJoo/.— Fibrous and small in proportion to the length and spread of 

 the stem. 



5tew.— Trailing, rough, hairy, five to twelve feet long, branched; 

 tendrils simple. 



Leot'e*.— Petioled, alternate, rough, hairy, palmately veined, cordate, 

 three to six inches long, angularly lobed; terminal lobe longest. 



Flowers. — Monoecious, yellow, cup-shaped, borne in the axils of the 

 leaves, pistillate flowers solitary, staminate flowers clustered. 



Co/ys;.— Bell-shaped, five-toothed; teeth awl-shaped. 



Corolla.— A spreading cup, slightly attached to the calyx; same in 

 both staminate and pistillate blossoms; tube short; lobes five, broad 

 and spreading. 



Stamens.— Three; filaments short, somewhat united; anthers curi- 

 ously bent. 



Ovary. — Three-celled, many ovuled; style short; stigmas three, two- 

 lobed. 



Fruit. — Cylindrical, five to ten inches long; when young the surface 

 is besprinkled with tubercles, armed with sharp, rigid bristles, which 

 later fall off; yellow when ripe. 



Seeds. — Very numerous, yellowish-white, oblanceolate, flattened; will 

 retain vitality for several years. 



The virtues of the Cucumber have been recognized from very 

 early times. Native to the foothills of the Himalayas in north- 

 western India and cultivated for at least three thousand years, its 

 use has now spread over the civilized world. The plant made its 

 way into Europe and northern Africa through commerce and 

 travel; was early brought to America, and has become one of the 

 most important garden crops about our great cities. The value 

 of the fruit seems to lie in the satisfaction that it gives; it has 



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