- Family:
- Cucurbitaceae Juss.
Cucumis L.

[FZ]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978
- Morphology General Habit
- Annual or perennial herbs, the latter with thickened or tuberous rootstock; stems annual, prostrate or scandent.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple, petiolate.
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple, rarely more than one at each node.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Corolla-lobes 5, united near the base.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
- Stamens 3, two double 2-thecous, one single 1-thecous; filaments short, inserted on receptacle-tube, free; anthers free; connective more or less produced; thecae triplicate.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
- Disk basal, subglobose, free from receptacle-tube.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Female flowers usually solitary, pedicellate; ovary smooth and densely pubescent or setulose, or covered with soft apically setulose spines or tubercules; ovules numerous, horizontal; perianth as in male flower; staminodes often present, 3, subulate, inserted on receptacle-tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from receptacle-tube; stigma 3-lobed. Flowers small to medium or rarely rather large, yellow or pale yellow, monoecious or dioecious, male flowers solitary or in few-flowered axillary fascicles; receptacle-tube campanulate or obconic, ± setulose, lobes usually linear, small.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruit usually ellipsoid, oblong-ellipsoid or subglobose, smooth and pubescent to glabrous or usually with dense to scattered apically setiferous spines, tubercules or pustules, firm-walled, fleshy, indehiscent, rarely geocarpic, usually yellowish when ripe, sometimes reddish, often longitudinally striped.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds ovate or elliptic in outline, usually smooth, compressed.
[FSOM]
M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS
- Morphology General Habit
- Scandent or trailing perennial or annual herbs
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple or very rarely bifid
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Monoecious or dioecious; flowers small to medium-sized or rarely large
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Hypanthium
- Hypanthium campanulate, ± setulose
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
- Sepals 5, usually small, narrow
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Petals 5, yellow, united near the base
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
- Stamens 3, 2 two-thecous, 1 one-thecous, inserted on the middle of the hypanthium; filaments short; thecae triplicate, straight or apically hooked
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Female flowers solitary Male flowers solitary or in small fascicles
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
- Ovary usually with soft apically setiferous spines or pustules, less often smooth and hairy
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary Ovules
- Ovules numerous, horizontal
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth
- Perianth similar to that of male flowers
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
- Disc annular, surrounding base of style Disc elevated, free from the hypanthium
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
- Stigmas 3
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruit subglobose to cylindric or fusiform, firmly fleshy, smooth and hairy or with sparse to dense apically setiferous spines, tubercles or pustules
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds ovate or elliptic in outline, smooth, compressed.
- Distribution
- About 60 species in the palaeotropics, mostly in tropical and southern Africa.
[FTEA]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967
- Morphology General Habit
- Medium-sized climbing or trailing herbs; stem annual, usually ± hispid- or scabrid-hairy
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple, palmately lobed, petiolate
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers small to medium-sized, yellow, monoecious, rarely dioecious Female flowers usually solitary; ovary hairy, the hairs often apical on small soft papillae or aculei; ovules many, horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes often present, 3, subulate, inserted on the tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from tube; stigma 3-lobed Male flowers solitary or in few-flowered sessile or pedunculate groups; receptacle-tube campanulate; lobes small, filiform: petals united below; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous, shortly inserted about the middle of the tube; filaments and anthers free; connective apically produced; thecae triplicate; disk obconic or subglobose, basal, free from the tube
- sex Male
- Male flowers solitary or in few-flowered sessile or pedunculate groups; receptacle-tube campanulate; lobes small, filiform: petals united below; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous, shortly inserted about the middle of the tube; filaments and anthers free; connective apically produced; thecae triplicate; disk obconic or subglobose, basal, free from the tube
- sex Female
- Female flowers usually solitary; ovary hairy, the hairs often apical on small soft papillae or aculei; ovules many, horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes often present, 3, subulate, inserted on the tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from tube; stigma 3-lobed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruit fleshy, usually rather firm-walled, indehiscent, smooth and glabrous or ± uniformly pubescent or more often with dense to scattered fleshy spines, pustules or tubercles each of which ends in a ± broad-based hyaline bristle or the basal remnants thereof, red, yellow, greenish or sometimes brownish, rarely maturing underground
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds small to medium-sized, lenticular, light-coloured, elliptic in outline and usually rather more pointed at the proximal end
- Figures
- Figs. 15, 16, (p. 101).
[FTEA]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967
- Morphology General Habit
- Prostrate herbs
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves deeply palmately dissected
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils absent
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers very small, yellow, monoecious Male flowers solitary or few-fasciculate, shortly pedicellate; receptacle-tube shallowly saucer-shaped; lobes small, dentiform; petals 5, ± rounded; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous; filaments short, inserted near base of receptacle-tube, free; anthers lightly coherent in centre of flower; connective narrow; thecae arcuate, apically incurved; disk absent Female flowers solitary or paired, subsessile, sometimes coaxillary with ♂; ovary hairy, subglobose; ovules horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes 3, subulate, inserted near base of tube; disk absent; stigma 3-lobed
- sex Male
- Male flowers solitary or few-fasciculate, shortly pedicellate; receptacle-tube shallowly saucer-shaped; lobes small, dentiform; petals 5, ± rounded; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous; filaments short, inserted near base of receptacle-tube, free; anthers lightly coherent in centre of flower; connective narrow; thecae arcuate, apically incurved; disk absent
- sex Female
- Female flowers solitary or paired, subsessile, sometimes coaxillary with ♂; ovary hairy, subglobose; ovules horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes 3, subulate, inserted near base of tube; disk absent; stigma 3-lobed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruit small, baccate
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds small, ovoid, smooth, obscurely margined
- Figures
- Fig. 22, p. 130.
[FTEA]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967
- Morphology General Habit
- Rather small climbers or trailers; stems herbaceous, annual or perennial, when perennial becoming ± woody when old
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple, ± palmately lobed, rarely unlobed, petiolate
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers small, yellow, monoecious or sometimes dioecious Female flowers solitary, pedicellate; ovary smooth, hairy; ovules many, horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes when present 3, subulate, inserted on receptacle-tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from tube; stigma 3-lobed Male flowers solitary or more often in small fascicles, pedicellate; receptacle-tube campanulate; lobes small, subulate or filiform; petals united below; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous, shortly inserted on the tube; anthers and filaments free; connective shortly produced apically; thecae straight, subparallel, sometimes apically hooked; disk elevated, convex, free from tube
- sex Male
- Male flowers solitary or more often in small fascicles, pedicellate; receptacle-tube campanulate; lobes small, subulate or filiform; petals united below; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous, shortly inserted on the tube; anthers and filaments free; connective shortly produced apically; thecae straight, subparallel, sometimes apically hooked; disk elevated, convex, free from tube
- sex Female
- Female flowers solitary, pedicellate; ovary smooth, hairy; ovules many, horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes when present 3, subulate, inserted on receptacle-tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from tube; stigma 3-lobed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruit rather small, fleshy, thin- or sometimes rather firm-walled, smooth but always hairy and sometimes scabrid, ellipsoid, and sometimes beaked, or fusiform, indehiscent
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds small, ovate or elliptic in outline, lenticular, compressed, not or only obscurely bordered
- Figures
- Fig. 18, p. 112.
[FZ]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978
- Morphology General Habit
- Rather small scandent or prostrate perennial herbs.
- Morphology Stem
- Stems herbaceous, annual or perennial, becoming somewhat woody when old.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple, petiolate.
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Receptacle
- Receptacle-tube campanulate, lobes small, subulate or filiform.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Corolla-lobes 5, united below.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
- Stamens 3, 2 double two-thecous, 1 single one-thecous, shortly inserted on the receptacle-tube; anthers and filaments free; connective shortly produced; thecae straight, sub-parallel, sometimes apically incurved.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
- Disk elevated, convex, free from the receptacle-tube.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Female flowers solitary, pedicellate; ovary shortly hirsute or hispid; ovules many, horizontal; perianth as in male flower; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from the receptacle-tube; stigma 3-lobed. Male flowers solitary or in small fascicles, pedicellate. Flowers small, yellow, monoecious or dioecious.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruit rather small, fleshy, thin-walled or firm-walled, smooth but always ± hirsute or scabrid, ellipsoid or fusiform, sometimes rostrate, indehiscent.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds small, ovate or elliptic in outline, compressed, whitish, not or obscurely bordered.
[FTEA]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967
- Morphology General Habit
- Medium-sized climbers; stems herbaceous, hispid, becoming when old somewhat thickened, woody and ± rough-barked at the base
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple, ovate-cordate, triangular or hastate, palmately lobed, petiolate
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers very small, yellow, monoecious Male flowers in sessile clusters, subsessile or shortly pedicellate; receptacle-tube campanulate, hispid-hairy outside; lobes small, subulate or triangular-dentiform; petals united below; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous, inserted on the tube; anthers and filaments free; connective shortly produced apically into a rather slender appendage; thecae straight or slightly arcuate; disk elevated, free from the receptacle-tube Female flowers in sessile clusters, sometimes solitary, subsessile, sometimes coaxillary with ♂; ovary ellipsoid or globose, smooth, ± hispid-hairy; ovules several, horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes when present 3, subulate, inserted on receptacle-tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from tube; stigma 3-lobed
- sex Male
- Male flowers in sessile clusters, subsessile or shortly pedicellate; receptacle-tube campanulate, hispid-hairy outside; lobes small, subulate or triangular-dentiform; petals united below; stamens 3, 2 double 2-thecous, 1 single 1-thecous, inserted on the tube; anthers and filaments free; connective shortly produced apically into a rather slender appendage; thecae straight or slightly arcuate; disk elevated, free from the receptacle-tube
- sex Female
- Female flowers in sessile clusters, sometimes solitary, subsessile, sometimes coaxillary with ♂; ovary ellipsoid or globose, smooth, ± hispid-hairy; ovules several, horizontal; perianth as in ♂ flower; staminodes when present 3, subulate, inserted on receptacle-tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style, free from tube; stigma 3-lobed
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruits subsessile in axillary clusters or sometimes solitary, small, baccate, ellipsoid or globose, ± hispid-hairy when young, red and practically glabrous when ripe, smooth
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds small, elliptic in outline, rather tumid, with prominent thick raised margins and flat or slightly convex smooth or scrobiculate disk
- Figures
- Fig. 19, p. 116.
[FZ]
Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978
- Morphology General Habit
- Scandent herbs.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves simple, petiolate.
- Morphology General Tendrils
- Tendrils simple.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Flowers very small, monoecious. Female flowers in sessile fascicles, rarely solitary, subsessile or shortly pedicellate; ovary ellipsoid or globose, smooth, ± setose; ovules numerous, horizontal; perianth as in male flower; staminodes 3, subulate, inserted on the receptacle-tube; disk annular, surrounding base of style; stigma 3-lobed. Male flowers in sessile fascicles, shortly pedicellate. Receptacle-tube obconic-campanulate, lobes small, narrow, dentiform or subulate. Corolla-lobes 5, united below. Stamens 3, two double 2-thecous, one single 1-thecous; filaments short, inserted on the receptacle-tube, free; connective shortly produced; thecae straight.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc
- Disk basal, subglobose, free from the receptacle-tube.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Fruits subsessile in axillary fascicles, sometimes solitary, small, baccate, ellipsoid or globose, smooth, red and usually glabrous when mature.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds elliptic in outline, rather tumid, with prominent margins and flat or convex disk, usually ± verrucose or scrobiculate.
Native to:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Borneo, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Repu, Chad, China South-Central, China Southeast, Congo, Djibouti, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, India, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jawa, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Lesotho, Lesser Sunda Is., Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Maluku, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, New Guinea, New South Wales, Nicobar Is., Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Queensland, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, South Australia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Australia, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
Introduced into:
Alabama, Albania, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Arizona, Arkansas, Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bismarck Archipelago, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, California, Canary Is., Cape Verde, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., China North-Central, Colombia, Comoros, Connecticut, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, Florida, Galápagos, Georgia, Ghana, Gilbert Is., Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii, Illinois, Jamaica, Japan, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kentucky, Kirgizstan, Korea, Leeward Is., Libya, Louisiana, Madeira, Maldives, Manchuria, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Morocco, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, Nevada, New Caledonia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, North Caucasus, Norway, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Panamá, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Pitcairn Is., Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rhode I., Réunion, Samoa, Seychelles, Society Is., Solomon Is., South Carolina, South European Russi, Spain, Sweden, Tadzhikistan, Texas, Transcaucasus, Trinidad-Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Utah, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Victoria, Virginia, Wake I., West Virginia, Windward Is., Xinjiang
- Cucumis aculeatus Cogn.
- Cucumis aetheocarpus (C.Jeffrey) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis africanus L.f.
- Cucumis althaeoides (Ser.) P.Sebastian & I.Telford
- Cucumis anguria L.
- Cucumis argenteus (Domin) P.Sebastian & I.Telford
- Cucumis asper Cogn.
- Cucumis baladensis Thulin
- Cucumis bryoniifolius (Merxm.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis canoxyi Thulin & Al-Gifri
- Cucumis carolinus J.H.Kirkbr.
- Cucumis cinereus (Cogn.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis clavipetiolatus (J.H.Kirkbr.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis costatus I.Telford
- Cucumis debilis W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes
- Cucumis dipsaceus Ehrenb. ex Spach
- Cucumis engleri (Gilg) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis ficifolius A.Rich.
- Cucumis globosus C.Jeffrey
- Cucumis gracilis (Kurz) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis hastatus Thulin
- Cucumis heptadactylus Naudin
- Cucumis hirsutus Sond.
- Cucumis humofructus Stent
- Cucumis hystrix Chakrav.
- Cucumis indicus Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis insignis C.Jeffrey
- Cucumis javanicus (Miq.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis jeffreyanus Thulin
- Cucumis kalahariensis A.Meeuse
- Cucumis kelleri (Cogn.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis kirkbridei Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis leiospermus (Wight & Arn.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis maderaspatanus L.
- Cucumis meeusei C.Jeffrey
- Cucumis melo L.
- Cucumis messorius (C.Jeffrey) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis metulifer E.Mey. ex Naudin
- Cucumis myriocarpus Naudin
- Cucumis omissus Thulin
- Cucumis picrocarpus F.Muell.
- Cucumis prophetarum L.
- Cucumis pubituberculatus Thulin
- Cucumis pustulatus Naudin ex Hook.f.
- Cucumis queenslandicus I.Telford
- Cucumis quintanilhae R.Fern. & A.Fern.
- Cucumis reticulatus (A.Fern. & R.Fern.) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis rigidus E.Mey. ex Sond.
- Cucumis ritchiei (C.B.Clarke) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis rostratus J.H.Kirkbr.
- Cucumis rumphianus (Scheff.) H.Schaef.
- Cucumis sacleuxii Paill. & Bois
- Cucumis sagittatus Wawra & Peyr.
- Cucumis sativus L.
- Cucumis setosus Cogn.
- Cucumis silentvalleyi (Manilal, T.Sabu & P.Mathew) Ghebret. & Thulin
- Cucumis thulinianus J.H.Kirkbr.
- Cucumis umbellatus I.Telford
- Cucumis variabilis P.Sebastian & I.Telford
- Cucumis zambianus Widrl., J.H.Kirkbr., Ghebret. & K.R.Reitsma
- Cucumis zeyheri Sond.
Cucumis L. appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melville, R., United Kingdom | 8094.000 | No | |||
Luke, Q. [TPR589], Kenya | K000809252 | No | |||
Gillett, J.B. [22986], Somalia | K000731946 | No | |||
Godding, H.C. [69], Somalia | K000731943 | No | |||
Thulin, M. [10624], Somalia | K000809229 | No |
First published in Sp. Pl.: 1011 (1753)
Accepted by
- Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
Literature
Flora of West Tropical Africa
- —F.T.A. 2: 542.
Flora Zambesiaca
- Deakin, Bohn & Whitaker in Econ. Bot. 25, 2: 195–211 (1971).
- Gen. Pl. ed. 5: 442 (1754).
- Sp. Pl. 2: 1011 (1753)
Flora of Somalia
- Flora Somalia, Vol 1, (1993) Author: by C. Jeffrey & M. Thulin [updated by M. Thulin 2008]
- Ghebretinsae, Thulin & Barber in Amer. J. Bot. 94: 1256–1266 (2007).
- Kirkbride, Biosystematic monograph of the genus Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae) (1993)
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- L., Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 442 (1754)
- Sp. Pl.: 1011 (1753)
-
Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
-
Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
-
Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0