Compilation
Cucumis anguria

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Name

Identification
Cucumis anguria L. [family CUCURBITACEAE ] (stored under name);
Related name
  • Cucumis not on sheet
  • Cucumis prophetarum
  • Cucumis anguria
  • Colocynthis not on sheet
  • Cucumis longipes
  • Citrullus not on sheet
  • Cucumis hookeri
Common name
  • fσtεnalinyi (NWT) (SIERRA LEONE, SUSU), Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1
  • West Indian gherkin, wild cucumber (Irvine)., Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1

Flora

Entry for CUCUMIS anguria L. [family CUCURBITACEAE]
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 1, (1967) Author: C. Jeffrey
Names
CUCUMIS anguria L. [family CUCURBITACEAE], Sp. Pl.: 1011 (1753); A. Meeuse in Blumea, Suppl. 4: 197 (1958) & in Bothalia 8: 77 (1962); R. & A. Fernandes in Mem. Junta Invest. Ultram., sér. 2, 34: 91 (1962). Type: a plant cultivated at Uppsala, Sweden (LINN, lecto.!)
CUCUMIS longipes Hook. f. [family CUCURBITACEAE], in F.T.A. 2: 547 (1871); Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. Pl. 2: 395 (1898). Types: Angola, Welwitsch 824 & 844 & 846 (all BM, syn.)
CUCUMIS chrysocomus [family CUCURBITACEAE], [sensu Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. Pl. 2: 387 (1898), non Schumach.]
CUCUMIS chrysocomus var. echinophorus [family CUCURBITACEAE], [sensu Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. Pl. 2: 396 (1898), quoad spec. cit., Welwitsch 847, non (Naud.) Hiern l.c. sensu stricto]
CUCUMIS anguria Gand. subsp. cubensis [family CUCURBITACEAE], in Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 65: 28 (1918). Type: Cuba, Baker 3992 (LY, holo.)
CUCUMIS anguria Gand. subsp. jamaicensis [family CUCURBITACEAE], in Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 65: 28 (1918). Type: Jamaica, Harris 6967 (LY, holo., K, iso.!)
CUCUMIS anguria (Hook. f.) A. Meeuse var. longipes [family CUCURBITACEAE], in Blumea, Suppl. 4: 200 (1958) & in Bothalia 8: 77 (1962)
CUCUMIS ficifolius [family CUCURBITACEAE], [sensu Barbosa in Garcia de Orta 9: 72 (1961), non A. Rich.]
Information
Annual herb climbing or trailing to 2.5 m.; stem densely long spreading-hairy. Leaf-blade broadly ovate-cordate in outline, subscabrid-hairy especially on nerves with short straight hairs, sinuate-toothed, 40–95 mm. long, 52–90 mm. broad, deeply palmately 5-lobed, lobes somewhat elliptic or rhombic in outline, narrowed below, often (especially the central and largest) 3-lobulate, less often the lobes ovate or rounded-triangular, broadest at the base; petiole 42–120 mm. long, ± spreading-hairy. Male flowers solitary or 3–10 in sessile or up to 26 mm. pedunculate cymose groups; pedicels 4–30 mm. long; receptacle-tube 3–3.5 mm. long; lobes subulate, 1.5–2 mm. long; petals 5–6 mm. long, 2.5–4 mm. broad, yellow. Female flowers on 13–95 mm. long stalks; ovary ellipsoid, ± 8 mm. long and 5 mm. across, rather densely bristly, each bristle elevated on a slight papilla; receptacle-tube ± 3.5 mm. long and 2.5 mm. across; perianth as in ♂. Fruit (fig. 15/8, p. 95) on a 33–135 mm. long stalk, which is often expanded upwards, shortly ellipsoid or subglobose, 30–43 mm. long, 22–34 mm. across, softly aculeate (the aculei terete, often more abundant and longest at the stalk end of the fruit and practically absent from the distal end), grey-green with about 10 longitudinal bands of deeper green and of varying distinctness, sometimes concolorous, ripening pale lemon-yellow.
Range
DISTR. T1–5, 7, 8 south to the Transvaal and South West Africa
Altitude range
800–1350 m.
Distribution
TANGANYIKA Mpanda District Katisunga, 20 Jan. 1950, Bullock 2283!TANGANYIKA Iringa District by Great Ruaha R. at Mtera, 1 Feb. 1962, Polhill & Paulo 1305!TANGANYIKA Lindi District Nachingwea, Namatumbuzi Farm, 24 Apr. 1957, Anderson 1149!
Notes
The above description and distributional data refer to wild plants of Africa only, which have been distinguished as forming var. longipes (Hook. f.) A. Meeuse (see Meeuse above); the variant distinguished as var. anguria differs in its often rather larger more oblong consistently non-bitter fruits with shorter aculei and in its often longer fruit-stalks; it appears to have originated as a cultigen in the West Indies where (as in other parts of the tropics) it is now an established alien; a specimen is also recorded (N.W. Thomas 1338!) from Sierra Leone, but it is otherwise unknown in Africa although specimens from the Cape Verde Is. have been seen. However, other large-fruited forms appear to be cultivated in East Africa.

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