Cucumis sativus
| Cucumber | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cucumbers growing on vines | |
 | |
| A single cucumber fruit | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genus: | Cucumis |
| Species: | C. sativus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cucumis sativus | |
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae gourd family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as vegetables. Considered an annual plant, there are three main varieties of cucumber — slicing, pickling, and burpless/seedless — within which several cultivars have been created. The cucumber originates from South Asia, but now grows on most continents, as many different types of cucumber are traded on the global market. In North America, the term wild cucumber refers to plants in the genera Echinocystis and Marah, though the two are not closely related.
English
Etymology
From Middle English cucumber, from Old French cocombre, ultimately from Latin cucumis, cucumerem (possibly through an Old Occitan intermediate). Probably of Pre-Italic substrate origin.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkjuːˌkʌmbɚ/
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkjuːˌkʌmbə/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈkaʊˌkʌmbɚ/
Noun
cucumber (plural cucumbers)
- A vine in the gourd family, Cucumis sativus.
- The edible fruit of this plant, having a green rind and crisp white flesh.
