Cucumis anguria

Cucumis anguria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucumis
Species:	C. anguria
Binomial name
	Cucumis anguria; L.
Varieties
	C. a. var. anguria (autonym); C. a. var. longaculeatus J.H.Kirkbr.;
Synonyms
	C. a. var. longipes (Hook.f.) A.Meeuse; C. longipes Hook.f.;

Cucumis anguria, commonly known as maroon cucumber,^[3] West Indian gherkin,^[4] maxixe,^[5] burr gherkin,^[6] cackrey,^[7] 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) grow on long stalks, and are ovoid to oblong. The fruits are covered with long hairs over a surface of spines or wart-like bumps. The inner flesh is pallid 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); Eswatini; Tanzania; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.^[2]

Cucumis anguria has become naturalized in: Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Australia (Queensland and Western Australia^[8]); 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, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Washington); Canada (Ontario, Niagara Region); 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]^[9] or eaten raw.^[3] The flavor is similar to that of the common cucumber.^[10] 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]}