Cucumis sativus L., cucumber. Annual, taprooted, tendril–bearing, several–stemmed at base, prostrate and climbing on herbs, with unbranched shoots radiating from root crown; monoecious; shoots robust with large, yellow–green, spreading cauline leaves oriented upward, scabrous, puberulent and hirsute, not foul–smelling; tendril 1 per node, arising to 1 side of petiole base, unbranched, to 80 mm long, coiled initially and eventually coiling around support.
Stems 5–ridged, to 5 mm diameter, tough, with course hairs along ridges.
Leaves helically alternate, simple and unlobed or weakly lobed, long–petiolate, without stipules; petiole narrowly channeled and ridged, < 25—140 mm long, tough, scabrous, hirsute with enlarged bases; blade ± circular in outline to broadly low 5–lobed, < 45—170 × < 45—170 mm, cordate at base, lobes obtuse to rounded and at tip, ± dentate on margins, pinnately veined with 5 principal veins at base slightly sunken on upper surface and conspicuously raised on lower surface, puberulent and short–hirsute especially along veins.
Inflorescence flowers solitary (pistillate) and several–flowered raceme (staminate), axillary and ascending, unisexual, lacking bracts, short–hirsute to hirsute with larger hairs having bulbous bases; pedicel at anthesis ca. 1.5 mm long, of staminate flowers abscising at base, of pistillate flower increasing in fruit.
Staminate flower radial, 12—14 mm across; hypanthium bell–shaped, ca. 4 × 2.5 mm, green, outer surface densely hirsute, inner surface glabrate; sepals 5, arising from hypanthium, free, lanceolate, 2.5—3 × 0.5 mm, green, short–hirsute to hirsute; corolla 5–lobed, arising from hypanthium, bright yellow, conspicuously veined with ca. 5 raised veins per lobe, lower (outer) surface hirsute and glandular–hairy, inner surface glandular–hairy; tube 1.2—1.4 mm long; lobes spreading, ± ovate, ca. 6 × 2 mm; stamens 3, at top of hypanthium; filaments < 1.5 mm long, greenish; anthers basifixed, dithecal, sacs 1.6—1.9 mm long + a flame–shaped, stigmalike terminal process (together 3 mm long), flame irregularly divided and lobed, sacs short–hairy, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen orange–yellow; pistil absent.
Pistillate flower radial, 16—19 mm across; hypanthium bell–shaped, 3.5—3.8 × 4 mm, with 0.5 mm cylinder on top of ovary, green, mostly short–hirsute with shaggy hairs having scattered longer hairs with broad bases; sepals 5, arising from hypanthium, barely united at base, at anthesis wide–spreading, narrowly lanceolate, 3.5—4 mm long, green, lower (outer) surface with raised midvein and hirsute; corolla 5–lobed, arising from hypanthium, bright yellow, conspicuously veined with 5 raised veins per lobe, lower (outer) surface hirsute and glandular–hairy, inner surface glandular–hairy; tube 1—1.3 mm long; lobes spreading, ± obovate, 8 × 3.6—4.1 mm; stamens 3, aborted, at midpoint of hypanthium, flanged triangular, ca. 0.8 mm wide; anthers absent; nectary dishlike, shallowly 5–lobed, encircling style base, ± 1.8 mm across, pale light green, glabrous; pistil 1; ovary conspicuously inferior (even in small bud), ellipsoid, at anthesis 8—9 × 5 mm, yellow–green, densely short–hirsute, 3–chambered with many ovules attached to outer wall; style included within hypanthium, to 4 mm long, stalk wedge–shaped, 2.2—2.5 × 0.9 mm, greenish, narrower at base, 3–branched, the branches reflexed and each 2–lobed (stigmas), saddlebaglike, ca. 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.5 mm; stigmas 6, not twisted, green, coarsely bumpy (not papillate).
Fruit mature fruits not observed in range, pepo (= indehiscent berry with tougher outer layer), many–seeded, ellipsoid–cylindric.
A. C. Gibson