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Scientific Name:
Cucumis sativus
Pronunciation:
KOO-koo-mis sah-TEE-vus
Common Name:
long English cucumber, European cucumber
Family Name:
Cucurbitaceae
Plant Type:
Annual (true), Greenhouse produce plant, Vine or climber
Key ID Features:
Trailing annual vine with tendrils; leaves alternate, most blades broadly ovate to orbicular in outline, 0-5 lobes, 15-25cm long and wide, margin serrate, base cordate, texture rough; flowers yellow, rotate, solitary; male flowers clusters, on spurs or absent; pepo oblong, seedless, thin and edible skin.

Habit:
Upright
Form:
Climbing
Texture:
Very coarse
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
1.0 - 1.5m
Origin:
South Asia / India
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
High
Landscape Uses:
Herb, Urban agriculture
Additional Info:

Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Lobed
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Prickly
Surfaces:
Branching hairs
Shapes:
Orbicular, Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Cordate
Margins:
Pinnately lobed, Serrate

Inflorescence Type:
Flowers solitary
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Funnelform
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Yellow
Flower Time at Peak:
Jun, Jul, Aug
Additional Info:
Some cultivars have only female flowers and are parthenocarpic; separate florets in racemes

Fruit Type:
Edible, Pepo
Fruit Colour:
Green
Fruiting Time:
Jul, Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Showy, Edible, Seedless

Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Additional Info:
stiff trichomes
Organ Modifications:
Tendrils
Propagation:
Seed
Optimal Temp.:
High
Light Level:
High
Maintenance:
High
Pest Susceptibility:
Aphids or adelgids, Fungal leaf spot, Mildew, Mites, Root rot, Thrips, Virus

Course(s):
  • HORT 1155
  • HORT 1193/1293
Location(s):
  • (FEA)  Field lab Equipment Area
  • (GNH)  GreeNHouse
Location Map