Cucumis anguria
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| Species: | C. anguria
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| Cucumis anguria | |
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Cucumis anguria, commonly known as cackrey,[3] maroon cucumber,[3] West Indian gherkin,[4] and West Indian gourd,[3] is a vine that is indigenous to Africa, but has become naturalized in the New World, and is cultivated in many places.[2] It is similar and related to the common cucumber (C. sativus) and its cultivars are known as gherkins.[citation needed]
Description
Cucumis anguria is a thinly stemmed, herbaceous vine scrambling up to 3 meters long. Fruits (4–5 cm × 3–4 cm) are longly stalked, and ovoid to oblong. The surface of the fruits have long hairs covering a surface having warts or spines: The inner flesh is palid to green.[3]
Distribution
Although naturalized in many parts of the New World, Cucumis anguria is indigenous only to Africa, in the following countries: Angola; Botswana; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga); Swaziland; Tanzania; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.[2]
Cucumis anguria has become naturalized in: Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Australia (Queensland); Barbados; Brazil; Cayman Islands; Costa Rica; Cuba; the Dominican Republic; Ecuador; French Guiana; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Madagascar; Martinique; Mexico; Netherlands Antilles; Nicaragua; Panama; Peru; Puerto Rico; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and Grenadines; Suriname; the United States (California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington); Venezuela; and both British and American Virgin Islands.[2][4]
Cucumis anguria is also cultivated, but not indigenous to, nor yet believed to have become naturalized in these places: Cape Verde; Réunion; Senegal; and parts of the Caribbean not already mentioned above.[2]
Uses
Cucumis anguria is primarily grown (as a crop plant) for its edible fruit, which are used in pickling, as cooked vegetables,[3][5] or eaten raw.[3] The flavor is similar to that of the common cucumber.[citation needed] C. anguria fruits are popular in the northeast and north of Brazil, where they are an ingredient in the local version of cozido (meat-and-vegetable stew).[citation needed]
Cucumis anguria has been used in folk medicine to treat ailments of the stomach.[6]
Pests
Crops are susceptible to attacks by fungi, aphids, and cucumber beetles.[3]
References
- ^ Cucumis anguria was originally described and published in Species Plantarum 2: 1011. 1753. "Name - !Cucumis anguria L." Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f GRIN (November 24, 2008). "Cucumis anguria information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Cucumis anguria". EcoCrop. FAO. 1993–2007. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- ^ a b "Profile for Cucumis anguria (West Indian gherkin)". PLANTS Database. USDA, NRCS. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- ^ Purseglove, J.W. (1968). Tropical Crops Dicotyledons. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd.
- ^ James A. Duke. "Cucumis anguria (CUCURBITACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Retrieved November 4, 2012.