SYSTEMATIC BOTANY OF THE CULTIVATED CUCURBITS 



Veg. Phan. 6:214. 1838. C. fistulosUS Stocks in 

 Hook. Journ. Bot, 3:74. 1851. C. Citrullus Karat. 

 Pharm. Bot. 889. 1883. Colocynthis Citrullus 

 Kuntze, /?ev. Gen. 1:256. 1891. Citrullus ocdulis 

 & C. COlocinthoides Pangolo, BuH. Appl. Bot. 23: 81. 

 1930. 



Annual vine with hirsute long-running stems and branched 

 tendrils; leaves deeply trifid with the lobes pinnatifid or bipinnatifid, 

 slightly scabrous on both sides, 4-7 inches long, peduncles shorter 

 than blades; flowers 1 ' & inches across, rotate, 5-lobed; fruit globular 

 or oblong, glabrous, green more or less marked with white stripes 

 or netting, flesh yellow, orange, or red, sweet, edible. There are 

 two well marked forms: 



la. (".. vulgaris var. citroides Bailey, Gent. 

 Herb. 2:186. 1930. Citron or Preserving Melon. 

 Similar but fruit smaller, flesh white, solid, not edible 

 raw; seeds not marbled as often as are those of the 

 watermelon. 



lb. C. vulgaris var. lanatus Bailey. Gent. 

 Herb. 2:87. 1929. Momordicu Umata Thunb. Prod. 

 Fl. Cap. 13. 1794. Citrullus amarus Schrad. in 

 Eckl. & Zeyh. Enum. PI. Air. 279. 1835. 



The bitter or wild native watermelon of South Africa. 



7. CUCUMIS L. Sp. PL 1011. 1753. Rigo- 

 carpus Neck. Elem. 1:238. 1790. Hymenosicyos 

 Chiov. Ann. di. Bot. 9:62. 1911. 



Annual or perennial trailing or rarely climbing herbs; monoe- 

 cious, sometimes dioecious, or very rarely perfect flowered, o 1 flowers 

 clustered or rarely solitary, 9 solitary or occasionally clustered; 

 corolla rotate or subcampanulate, 5-parted, stamens 3, free; stami- 

 nodes of the 9 flowers 3, setiform or ligulate, ovary with 3-5 

 placentae and an equal number of stigmas; fruit generally fleshy, 

 usually but not always indehiscent, globular to elongate, glabrous, 

 pubescent or echinate; seeds numerous. 



This genus of African origin consists of nearly 40 

 species, two of which are now known in a wild or semi- 

 wild state only from India and one only from America. 

 Besides the important edible forms which are confined 

 largely to the three species distinguished in the following 

 key, a fourth species, the Teasel Gourd, C. dipsaceus, 

 is sometimes grown for ornamental purposes. It is a 

 slender vine with leaves resembling those of C. Melo 

 and dry bristly bur -like fruits about 1 ' ^ inches long. 



KEY TO IMPORTANT SPECIES OF CUCUMIS 

 Fruit spiny, muricate, or echinate 



Leaves deeply lobed, sinuses obtuse .... 1. C. Anguria 

 Leaves at most shallowly lobed, sinuses acute. 



Fruit edible, somewhat prickly 2. C. sativus 



Fruit inedible, bristly hairy 3. C. dipsaceus 



Fruit glabrous or pubescent, the surface smooth, ribbed, 

 netted, or somewhat tuberculate but not spiny in 

 any degree 4. C. .Melo 



1. Cucumis Anguria L. Sp. PL 1011. 1753. 

 Bur Gherkin. C. echinatus Moench, Meth. 654. 

 1794. C. parviflorus Salisb. Prod. 157. 1796. C. 

 augurioides M. Roem. Syn. Pepon 79. 1846. " C. 

 Arada L." Naud. & Muell. Man. Ace/. 230. 1887. 



Monoecious, trailing annual with slender, rough, hairy, angled 

 stems and small tendrils; leaves deeply 3-5 lobed, the latter often 



again lobed, sinuses rounded, scabrous; flowers ' •,-';■ inch 

 across, 6" fasciculate rarely solitary with slender peduncle, 9 

 solitary with stouter hirsute peduncle; fruit oval or oblong, 1 ' _> 2 

 inches long, pale yellow when mature, sometimes striped with 

 green, furrowed, prickly. 



This species, sometimes known as the " West India 

 Gherkin," is known in a seemingly wild state only from 

 tropical America but as noted in the preceding chapter 

 is probably of African origin. It is sometimes used in 

 pickles in the United States but more often the 

 " gherkins " found on the market are small fruits of 

 various varieties of C. sativus. 



2. Cucumis sativus L. Sp. PL 1012. 1753. 

 Cucumber. C. esculentus Salisb. Prod. 157. 1796. 

 C. muricatus Willd. Sp. PL 4:613. 1805. C. Hard- 

 uickii Royle, III. Himal. PL 1:220. 1839. " C. 

 Vilmorinii Hort." Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ort. 19:115. 

 1894. 



Monoecious annual trailing or climbing vine with angled 

 hirsute stems; leaves cordate- or deltoid -ovate, more or less 3- to 

 5-lobed, the sinuses acute, scabrous; flowers 1—1 J 2 inches across, c? 

 clustered with slender peduncles, 9 usually solitary and with stouter 

 short peduncles; fruit nearly globular to oblong or cylindrical, 

 usually slightly curved, often obtusely trigonous, mature specimens 

 often with very slight traces of spines or tubercles. 



The wild form considered by many as most typical is 

 that described originally as C. Hardwickii from the 

 mountains of northern India. Granting an African 

 origin of the genus, this species must have spread early 

 into Asia or possibly have developed there from a more 

 generalized type. 



As a botanical variety C. sativus anglicus, Bailey 

 has named the English forcing type of cucumber, note- 

 worthy because of its long fruits up to 3 feet, and some- 

 what larger leaves and flowers. It is not tetraploid 

 despite the appearance of being so. 



The horticultural varieties of this species are treated 

 in a subsequent chapter of this volume, hence it is neces- 

 sary here only to remark that Seringe (DC. Prod. 3:300. 

 1828) gave Latin names to five groups; Naudin (Ann. 

 Sci. Nat. IV. 11:28. 1859) found four outstanding 

 forms; Alefeld (Landw. Fl. 196. 1866) gave Latin 

 names to 14 forms in 3 groups; and the Russian workers 

 in the papers noted in footnote 7 have named still other 

 forms. 



3. C. dipsaceus Ehrenb. in Spach, Hist. Veg. 

 Phan. 6:211. 1838. Teasel Gourd. C. Bardona 

 Fenzl. ex Naud. Ann. Sci. Nat. IV. 11:25. 1859. 

 C. atnbigua Fenzl. ex Hook. f. in Oliver, Fl. Trop. 

 Afr. 2:543. 1871. Momordica dasycarpa Hochst. ex 

 Rich. Fl. Abyss. 1:291. 1847. 



Annual, monoecious, trailing vine; stems angled, setose; leaves 

 more or less broad- or reniform-ovate, 3-4 ' 2 inches across; flowers 

 small, on long, slender peduncles, i 1 solitary or fasciculate, 9 

 solitary; fruit 1-2 inches long, hard, bur-like, ovoid-cylindrical, 

 pale yellowish when mature, densely covered with bristly hairs; 

 seeds very small, numerous. 



This plant, from north eastern Africa and adjacent 

 Asia, is occasionally grown for ornament. It is some- 

 times known as Hedgehog Gourd. 



