Cucumber Cucumis Sativus
(Common Name:- Cucumber)
Classification
- Kingdom :Plantae
- Subkingdom :Tracheobionta
- Superdivision :Spermatophyta
- Division :Magnoliophyta
- Class :Magnoliopsida
- Subclass :Dilleniidae
- Order :Violales
- Family :Cucurbitaceae
- Genus :Cucumis
- Species :C.sativus
Plant Description
The cucumber is the edible fruit of the cucumber plant Cucumis sativus,
which belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae.
The cucumber plant is an annual climber which grows to a height of 15-30
cm and has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruit. The vine is
grown on the ground or on trellises, often in greenhouses.
Other species
- The Squirting Cucumber, Ecballium Elaterium, furnishes the drug
Elaterium.
- The West Indian Gherken is C. anguria a plant far inferior to the
common Cucumber.
- The snake cucumber is C. flexuosum; it grows to a great length and
may be used either raw or pickled.
- The Indian Cucumber, or Cucumber Root, is the rhizome of Medeola
virginiana.
- The small gourd of South Africa is C. myriocarpus.
- The Bitter Cucumber is another name for Colocynth (Citrullus
colocynthis, Schrader).
- The Cucumber Tree, so called from the resemblance of the young fruits
to small cucumbers, is Magnolia virginiana, var. acuminata (Linn.), and
considered a valuable remedy for rheumatism.
Other Names
- Burmese: Thakhwa.
- Danish: Agurk
- Dutch: Komkommer
- English: Cucumber, Cultivated cucumber
- Finnish: Kurkku
- French: Concombre
- German: Gurke
- Italian: Cetriolo
- Hindi: Kheera (khira), Kakri, Kakdi, Tihu.