Cucumis anguria, commonly known as maroon cucumber, West Indian gherkin, maxixe, burr gherkin, cackrey, and West Indian gourd, 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.

 

Cucumis anguria, commonly known as Wild cucumber, cockney, maroon cucumber, West Indian gherkin, and West Indian gourd, is a vine belonging to Cucumis L. (melon) genus and Cucurbitaceae (Cucumber family). The plant is native to Africa and occurs from the woodlands of Angola and Zimbabwe to Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. It is similar and related to the common cucumber (C. sativus) and its cultivars are known as gherkins. It is an important cucurbit vegetable and conventional medicinal crop. Few of the popular common names of the plant are Gherkin, cackrey, maroon cucumber, West Indian gherkin, West Indian gourd, Bur cucumber, Cassongo, Chikanyanga, Chikopa, Chipokolo, Goareberry gourd, Ingolowe, Jerusalem cucumber, Kasongwe, Muchacha, Muhawa, Prickly fruited gherkin, West Indian gourd, Burr gherkin, Jerusalem cucumber, Wild cucumber and wild spiny cucumber.

The fruits and leaves of wild cucumber are consumed as boiled, fried, stewed, pickled, and also used as fresh in salads and hamburgers. Additionally, the fruits, roots, and seeds are used for traditional medicine to treat stomach aches, jaundice, hemorrhoids and preventing stone formation in the kidney. Since there is a growing worldwide demand for pickled gherkins, many food companies have started to explore opportunities for producing gherkins. The plant is harvested from the wild, or more commonly cultivated, for its edible fruits and leaves and also for various medicinal uses. The fruits are often traded.

Plant Description

Wild cucumber is a thinly stemmed, annual monoecious herbaceous vine that grows about 3 meters long. The plant is found growing in semi-deciduous and deciduous woodland, tree and shrub savanna, grassland, semi-desert, wooded grassland, on Kalahari sand, abandoned cultivated land, and near cattle kraals. The plant requires deep and well-drained soils such as white, red, or brown sand, grey or red loam, and gravelly or stony soil. It is also found on brackish soils with underlying limestone formations as well as blackish clay soil and grows well on seasonally moist alluvial soil. Trailing or scandent stems with bristle-like hairs grow up to 2 meters long, either scrambling over the ground or climbing into other plants, where they support themselves by means of tendrils.

Stem

Stems is annual, up to more than 2 m long, finely ridged, roughly whitish hairy, usually prostrate, but will climb on bushes and other support.

Leaves

The leaves are alternate and variable and tendrils are almost always present It is 4–8 cm long, 4–7 cm wide, deeply 5-lobed, the central lobe often 3-lobed, bristly, margins toothed. The leaves are large and lobed, resembling maple leaves in shape. The petiole is 2–6 cm long with spreading hairs.

Flower

Wild cucumbers have both male and female flowers. The male flowers sprout in round clusters about (10-20 cm) across with individual flowers (1 cm) wide. They have six thin petals. A single female flower is found at the base of a male flower stalk. The flowers are mostly unisexual and white or yellow in color they occur on the same plant (monoecious) or on separate plants (dioecious). Male flowers are fascicled, very small, and much shorter than the hispid petiole, whereas female flowers have longer peduncles. Flowering normally takes place from July to September.

Fruit

Fertile flowers are followed by an ellipsoid to subglobose berry with one too many, often flattened seeds. It is 3–5 cm long, 20–30 mm diam. on a stalk 2.5–21 cm long. Fruits are initially grayish-green with green stripes, ripening to yellowish as they mature and turn brown when dry before the fruit burst for seed collection. The inner flesh of the fruit is white-green and is a crisp, crunchy texture. It has a mild taste, likened to a cross between a cucumber and a zucchini, with sweet and sour, slightly citrusy notes. Each fruit is filled with numerous tiny, tart-edible seeds. As the fruit matures, it develops a strong tart and bitter taste while the outer flesh turns tough, and develops long, rubbery spines that eventually turn into spikes. The fruits of this species, often small, prickly, and striped, were pickled and preserved in Old Cape kitchens.

Seeds

Seeds are ellipsoid, 4.5-5.2 mm long, 2-2.3 mm wide and 0.9-1.1 mm thick, compressed with rounded margins, smooth. The seeds are green in color when unripe and turn red when ripe, and also turn brown when they are ready for collection.

Origin and geographic distribution

Cucumis anguria is of African origin and it occurs wild in East and southern Africa. It has bitter fruits, but occasionally non-bitter types occur. Seeds were taken to the Americas with the slave trade, where the cultivated West Indian gherkin was developed. This edible, non-bitter type spread through the Caribbean, parts of Latin America, and the southern United States. It can now be found in a semi-wild state as an escape from cultivation, and in some cases it appears to be an element of the indigenous flora. It is an invasive weed in parts of North America and in Australia, and a serious weed in peanut fields of the southern United States. The non-bitter edible form was reintroduced into Africa (e.g. Cape Verde, Senegal, Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Réunion, Madagascar, South Africa), where it is grown for its fruits. In Madagascar, Cucumis anguria is probably not originally wild, but naturalized because it is localized around human habitations.

Traditional uses and benefits of using Wild cucumber

• The seeds are vermifuge.
• They are ground into fine flour, then made into an emulsion with water and eaten.
• It is then necessary to take a purge in order to expel the tapeworms or other parasites from the body.
• Cucumis anguria has been used in folk medicine to treat ailments of the stomach.
• Fruit is eaten to treat jaundice.
• Juice of the fruit, mixed with oil, is applied to contusions.
• Fruit is applied to hemorrhoids.
• An enema of the wild plant is used to treat stomach pains.
• Leaves, after being steeped in vinegar, are used against ringworm.
• Leaf juice preparation is applied to freckles.
• Decoction of the roots is used as a remedy for stomach troubles and to reduce edema.
• In America, medicinal uses are varied, including root decoction as a remedy for stomach trouble in Mexico, and to reduce edema in Cuba.
• Fruit is eaten to treat jaundice in Curaçao, and leaf juice preparations are applied to freckles in Cuba.
• Kidney problems are treated with a decoction in Colombia, where it is believed that the fruits eaten raw dissolve kidney stones.
• Fruit is applied to hemorrhoids in Cuba, and the leaves after being steeped in vinegar are used against ringworm.

Culinary Uses

• Fruit can be consumed raw, cooked or pickled.
• Fruit has a very agreeable cucumber flavor without any bitterness.
• It can be used in salads or as part of a savory dish.
• Fruit is frequently soaked in vinegar to make a pickle; it absorbs a large quantity of vinegar.
• Seed can also be consumed raw.
• Seed is rich in oil with a nutty flavor but very fiddly because it is rather small and covered with a fibrous seed coat.
• Young leaves can be cooked.
• Leaves of bitter forms are more likely to be eaten in Africa.
• Leaves of bitter forms of Cucumis anguria are cooked and eaten, in the same manner as pumpkin leaves.
• It is one of a range of edible wild greens, which are dried into cakes and stored for use during the dry season in Namibia.
• Fruits are eaten both fresh and dried in South Africa.
• Fruits are also relatively common as a table vegetable and they are used in soups and stews.
• Mature fruits are cooked as the main ingredient of a traditional soup called ‘maxixada’ in Brazil
• Immature fruit are used as fresh cucumbers.
• They may be eaten whole with the skin on when they are young and can be sliced thin and used in salads like cucumbers.
• They can be used in casseroles and stews and can be stir-fried with tomatoes, onion, and garlic to make a ratatouille-like dish.
• They are commonly used in Brazil in a traditional hot-sour soup called “maxixada”, made with coconut milk and seafood.
• West Indian gherkins go well with other vegetables like okra and are a good complementary ingredient to pork, chicken, and beef.

Other Facts

• Bitter forms of the plant are occasionally used as a natural pesticide in stored crops.
• The juice of the fruit is supposedly used as an antifeedant in granaries.
• Bitter forms of Cucumis anguria are sometimes used in Zimbabwe as a natural pesticide in stored crops.
• In Matabeleland (Zimbabwe) the fruit is used as a lure in rock and sticky traps.
• An enema of the wild plant is used to treat stomach pain.
• Traditional medical practitioners consider the bitter fruit as poisonous and the juice of the fruit is used to treat septic wounds in livestock in Zimbabwe.
• Fruits may be produced within 60 days from the time of planting.
• A single plant can produce 50 or more fruits.

Cucumber varieties

Cucumbers are classified into three main cultivar groups: “slicing”, “pickling”, and “burpless”.

Slicing cucumber

Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers. The main varieties of slicers mature on vines with large leaves that provide shading. They are mainly eaten in the unripe green form, since the ripe yellow form normally becomes bitter and sour. Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have a much tougher skin. Slicers in other countries are smaller and have a thinner, more delicate skin, often having fewer seeds and being sold in a plastic skin for protection. Sometimes these are known as English cucumbers. This variety may also be called a “telegraph cucumber”, particularly in Australasia. Smaller slicing cucumbers can also be pickled.

Pickling cucumber

Pickling with brine, sugar, vinegar, and spices creates various, flavored products from cucumbers and other foods. Although any cucumber can be pickled, commercial pickles are made from cucumbers specially bred for uniformity of length-to-diameter ratio and lack of voids in the flesh. Those cucumbers intended for pickling, called picklers, grow to about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. Compared to slicers, picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, less regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white or black-dotted spines. Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green. The process of pickling led to the use of paraffin wax as a seal for jars used to preserve pickled and other preserved foods, and to the Mason jar made from thick glass able to tolerate high temperatures used in processing pickles and other foods for long-term shelf-life. The liquid made from pickling is called “pickle juice.”

Gherkin

Gherkins, also called cornichons, baby dills, or baby pickles, are small, whole, unsliced cucumbers, typically those 1 inch (2.5 cm) to 5 inches (13 cm) in length, often with bumpy skin, and pickled in variable combinations of brine, vinegar, spices, and sugar. In the United Kingdom, gherkins may be prepared predominantly in vinegar, imparting an acidic flavor “punch” as a side-dish for meals.

Although gherkins may be grown in greenhouses, they are commonly grown as a field crop, processed locally, and packaged in jars in Canada, the United States, and India. India, Turkey, Ukraine and Mexico compete as producers for the global gherkin market, with the European Union, United States, Canada, and Israel as major importers.

The word gherkin derived in the mid-17th century from early modern Dutch, gurken or augurken for “small pickled cucumber”. The term, West Indian gherkin, has been applied to Cucumis anguria L., a related species of Cucumis sativus, the most common cucumber plant.

Burpless cucumber

Burpless cucumbers are sweeter and have a thinner skin than other varieties of cucumber, and are reputed to be easy to digest and to have a pleasant taste. They can grow as long as 2 feet (0.61 m). They are nearly seedless, and have a delicate skin. Most commonly grown in greenhouses, these parthenocarpic cucumbers are often found in grocery markets, shrink-wrapped in plastic. They are sometimes marketed as seedless or burpless, because the seeds and skin of other varieties of cucumbers are said to give some people gas.

Other cultivars

• Lebanese cucumbers are small, smooth-skinned and mild, yet with a distinct flavor and aroma. Like the English cucumber, Lebanese cucumbers are nearly seedless.
• East Asian cucumbers are mild, slender, deep green, and have a bumpy, ridged skin. They can be used for slicing, salads, pickling, etc., and are available year-round. They are usually burpless as well.
• Persian cucumber, which are mini, seedless, and slightly sweet, are available from Canada during the summer, and all year-round in the US. Easy to cut and peel, it is on average 4–7 in (10–18 cm) long. They are commonly eaten chopped up in plain yogurt with mint or sliced thin and long with salt and lemon juice. Vines are parthenocarpic, requiring no pollinators for fruit set.
• Beit Alpha cucumbers are small, sweet parthenocarpic cucumbers adapted to the dry climate of the Middle East.
• Apple cucumbers are short, round cucumbers grown in New Zealand and parts of Europe, known for their light yellow-green color and mildly sweet flavor. When mature, the fruit may grow tiny spines, and contains numerous edible green seeds. The fruit is usually eaten raw, with skin.
• Schälgurken cucumbers are eaten in Germany. Their thick skins are peeled and then they braised or fried, often with minced meat or dill. They are often known by the term ‘Schmorgurken’.
• Dosakai is a yellow cucumber available in parts of India. These fruits are generally spherical in shape. It is commonly cooked as curry, added in sambar or soup, daal and also in making dosa-aavakaaya (Indian pickle) and chutney; it is also grown and available through farms in Central California.
• Kekiri is a smooth skinned cucumber, relatively hard, and not used for salads. It is cooked as spicy curry. It is found in dry zone of Sri Lanka. It becomes orange colored when the fruit is matured.
• Armenian cucumbers (also known as yard long cucumbers) are fruits produced by the plant Cucumis melo var. flexuosus. This is not the same species as the common cucumber (Cucumis sativus) although it is closely related. Armenian cucumbers have very long, ribbed fruit with a thin skin that does not require peeling, but are actually an immature melon. This is the variety sold in Middle Eastern markets as “pickled wild cucumber”.

References

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