Cucumis anguria Seeds - Bur Gherkin, Gooseberry Gourd - South African Indigenous Vegetable - Vine

Cucumis anguria Seeds

Bur Cucumber, Bur Gherkin, Cackrey, Gooseberry Gourd, Maroon Cucumber, West Indian Gherkin, West Indian Gourd 

Cucumis anguria is a South African indigenous species from the KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. The cucumbers produced by this plant can be pickled, eaten raw, or cooked like zucchini. Cucumis anguria, commonly known as bur cucumber, bur gherkin, cackrey, gooseberry gourd, maroon cucumber, West Indian gherkin, 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. It is similar and related to the common cucumber (C. sativus) and its cultivars are known as gherkins. Cucumis anguria is a thinly stemmed, herbaceous vine scrambling up to 3 meters long. Fruits (45 cm × 34 cm) are longly stalked, and ovoid to oblong. The surface of the fruits have long hairs covering a surface having warts or spines: The inner flesh is palid to green. Cucumis anguria is primarily grown (as a crop plant) for its edible fruit, which are used in pickling, as cooked vegetables, or eaten raw. The flavor is similar to that of the common cucumber.[citation needed] 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). Cucumis anguria has been used in folk medicine to treat ailments of the stomach.