Cucumis
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus )
The cucumber (Cucumis ) are a genus of plants of the gourd family ( Cucurbitaceae ). The species have areas in tropical to temperate regions. 30 Cucumis species occur in Africa, 25 in India, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Description
There are usually twining, one to perennial herbaceous plants. The plants are often raubehaart. The usually alternate and spirally arranged on the stems leaves are stalked. The leaf blade may be undivided or three-to five-lobed divided palmate. The leaf margin may be smooth to toothed. Stipules absent.
The flowers are usually unisexual, hermaphrodites are rare. The plants are on ( monoecious ) or dioecious ( dioecious ). The female flowers are separate, the male standing clusters in the leaf axils. The stalked or sitting flowers are radial symmetry, fünfzählig and have a double perianth. The five sepals are fused, the five petals are fused bell-shaped. In the male and hermaphrodite flowers only a circle with three fertile stamens is present. In the female and hermaphrodite flowers, a carpel is present, or two to five carpels are under a constant, parakarpen ( = the ovary is not divided by septa ) ovary grown. The cucumbers have a pen with a usually three-lobed stigma. They are pollinated by insects ( entomophily ).
Botanically, berries are the fruits; in natural forms, they have a diameter of 1.5 to 7 inches and are from 15 to 120 mm long. They contain 20 to 100 seeds, which may be winged or wingless.
System
DNA sequence analysis revealed in 2006 that the genus Cucumis was paraphyletic in the former extent, since the genera Cucumella, Dicoelospermum, Mukia, Myrmecosicyos and Oreosyce were within the genus Cucumis. 2007 Hanno Schaefer has the species of these genera also formally transferred to the genus Cucumis and made the following reorganization of the genus, which thus comprises 52 species:
- Subgenus Humifructus series Humifructosi Cucumis hirsutus
- Cucumis humifructus
- Section Cucumis Cucumis gracilis
- Cucumis hystrix
- Cucumis javanicus
- Cucumis leiospermus
- Cucumis maderaspatanus
- Muskmelon (Cucumis melo )
- Cucumis ritchiei
- Cucumis rumphianus
- Cucumber (Cucumis sativus )
- Cucumis aculeatus
- Cucumis africanus
- Cucumis anguria
- Cucumis baladensis
- Cucumis canoxyi
- Cucumis carolinus
- Cucumis dipsaceus
- Cucumis ficifolius
- Cucumis hastatus
- Cucumis heptadactylus
- Cucumis insignis
- Cucumis jeffreyanus
- Cucumis kalahariensis
- Cucumis meeusei
- Cucumis messorius
- Cucumis myriocarpus
- Cucumis prolatior
- Cucumis prophetarum
- Cucumis pubituberculatus
- Cucumis pustulatus
- Cucumis quintanilhae
- Cucumis rigidus
- Cucumis thulinianus
- Cucumis zeyheri
- Cucumis globosus
- Cucumis sagittatus
- Horngurke or horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus )
- Cucumis rostratus
- Cucumis sacleuxii
- Cucumis aëtheocarpus
- Cucumis asper
- Cucumis bryoniifolius
- Cucumis cinereus
- Cucumis clavipetiolatus
- Cucumis engleri
- Cucumis indicus
- Cucumis Kelleri
- Cucumis kirkbrideana
- Cucumis oreosyce
- Cucumis reticulatus
- Cucumis silentvalleyi