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50-657: The cucumber ( Cucumis sativus ) is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits , which are used as culinary vegetables . Considered an annual plant, there are three main types of cucumber—slicing, pickling , and seedless —within which several cultivars have been created. The cucumber originates in Asia extending from India , Nepal , Bangladesh , China ( Yunnan , Guizhou , Guangxi ), and Northern Thailand , but now grows on most continents , and many different types of cucumber are grown commercially and traded on

100-536: A pollenizer cultivar interplanted, and the number of beehives per unit area is increased, but temperature changes induce male flowers even on these plants, which may be sufficient for pollination to occur. In 2009, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the cucumber genome . A study of genetic recombination during meiosis in cucumber provided a high resolution landscape of meiotic DNA double strand-breaks and genetic crossovers . The average number of crossovers per chromosome per meiosis

150-661: A commercially important example of a bine. The direction of rotation of the shoot tip during climbing is autonomous and does not (as sometimes imagined) derive from the shoot's following the sun around the sky – the direction of twist does not therefore depend upon which side of the equator the plant is growing on. This is shown by the fact that some bines always twine clockwise, including runner bean ( Phaseolus coccineus ) and bindweed ( Convolvulus species), while others twine anticlockwise, including black bryony ( Dioscorea communis ) and climbing honeysuckles ( Lonicera species). The contrasting rotations of bindweed and honeysuckle

200-707: A crab meat sauce. They can also be stir fried or used in soups. In 2022, world production of cucumbers and gherkins was 95 million tonnes , led by China with 82% of the total. Cultivated for at least 3,000 years, the cultivated cucumbers "Cucumis sativus" were domesticated in India from wild " C. sativus var. hardwickii ". where a great many varieties have been observed, along with its closest living relative, Cucumis hystrix . Three main cultivar groups of cucumber are namely Eurasian cucumbers (slicing cucumbers eaten raw and immature), East Asian cucumbers (pickling cucumbers) and Xishuangbanna cucumbers. Based on demographic modelling,

250-415: A delicate skin. Most commonly grown in greenhouses, these parthenocarpic cucumbers are often found in grocery markets , shrink-wrapped in plastic. They are marketed as either burpless or seedless, as the seeds and skin of other varieties of cucumbers are said to give some people gas. Cucumber shoots are regularly consumed as a vegetable, especially in rural areas. In Thailand they are often served with

300-511: A growth form based on very long stems. This has two purposes. A vine may use rock exposures, other plants, or other supports for growth rather than investing energy in a lot of supportive tissue, enabling the plant to reach sunlight with a minimum investment of energy. This has been a highly successful growth form for plants such as kudzu and Japanese honeysuckle , both of which are invasive exotics in parts of North America. There are some tropical vines that develop skototropism, and grow away from

350-622: A lady specialized in poisons, and Livia , who is rumored to have used it to kill her husband Emperor Augustus . Other uses include perfumes , such as the sequiterpene santolols , from sandalwood . The English yew tree was long known to be extremely and immediately toxic to animals that grazed on its leaves or children who ate its berries; however, in 1971, paclitaxel was isolated from it, subsequently becoming an important cancer drug . The biological activities for most phytochemicals are unknown or poorly understood, in isolation or as part of foods. Phytochemicals with established roles in

400-563: A mild melon aroma and flavor, in part resulting from unsaturated aldehydes , such as (E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal , and the cis - and trans - isomers of 2-nonenal . The slightly bitter taste of cucumber rind results from cucurbitacins . In general cultivation , cucumbers are classified into three main cultivar groups: slicing, pickled , and seedless/burpless . Cucumbers grown to eat fresh are called slicing cucumbers . The main varieties of slicers mature on vines with large leaves that provide shading. Slicers grown commercially for

450-872: A role in plant growth or defense against competitors, pathogens, or predators. Phytochemicals are generally regarded as research compounds rather than essential nutrients because proof of their possible health effects has not been established yet. Phytochemicals under research can be classified into major categories, such as carotenoids and polyphenols , which include phenolic acids , flavonoids , stilbenes or lignans . Flavonoids can be further divided into groups based on their similar chemical structure, such as anthocyanins , flavones , flavanones , isoflavones , and flavanols . Flavanols are further classified as catechins , epicatechins , and proanthocyanidins . In total, between 50,000 and 130,000 phytochemicals have been discovered. Phytochemists study phytochemicals by first extracting and isolating compounds from

500-477: A species different from the common cucumber. Pliny also writes about several other varieties of cucumber, including the cultivated cucumber, and remedies from the different types (9 from the cultivated; 5 from the "anguine;" and 26 from the "wild"). Charlemagne had cucumbers grown in his gardens in the 8th/9th century. They were reportedly introduced into England in the early 14th century, lost, then reintroduced approximately 250 years later. The Spaniards (through

550-527: A touch stimulus, vanadate -sensitive K , Mg ATPase and Ca -translocating ATPases rapidly increase their activity. This increases transmembrane ion fluxes that appear to be involved in the early stages of tendril coiling. Phytochemical As a term, phytochemicals is generally used to describe plant compounds that are under research with unestablished effects on health, and are not essential nutrients . Regulatory agencies governing food labeling in Europe and

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600-437: Is thermal decomposition . A converse exists in the case of carotenoids , such as lycopene present in tomatoes , which may remain stable or increase in content from cooking due to liberation from cellular membranes in the cooked food. Food processing techniques like mechanical processing can also free carotenoids and other phytochemicals from the food matrix, increasing dietary intake. In some cases, processing of food

650-593: Is a woody shrub-vine which climbs without clinging roots, tendrils, or thorns. It directs its stem into a crevice in the bark of fibrous barked trees (such as bald cypress ) where the stem adopts a flattened profile and grows up the tree underneath the host tree's outer bark. The fetterbush then sends out branches that emerge near the top of the tree. Most vines are flowering plants. These may be divided into woody vines or lianas , such as akebia wisteria , kiwifruit , and common ivy , and herbaceous (nonwoody) vines, such as morning glory . One odd group of vining plants

700-545: Is classified as a pepo , a type of botanical berry with a hard outer rind and no internal divisions. However, much like tomatoes and squashes , it is often perceived, prepared, and eaten as a vegetable . Most cucumber cultivars are seeded and require pollination. For this purpose, thousands of honey beehives are annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom. Cucumbers may also be pollinated via bumblebees and several other bee species. Most cucumbers that require pollination are self-incompatible , thus requiring

750-635: Is dead of eating cowcumbers, of which the other day I heard of another, I think. John Evelyn in 1699 wrote that the cucumber, 'however dress'd, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than poyson (poison)'. According to 18th-century British writer Samuel Johnson , it was commonly said among English physicians that a cucumber "should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing." A copper etching made by Maddalena Bouchard between 1772 and 1793 shows this plant to have smaller, almost bean-shaped fruits, and small yellow flowers. The small form of

800-681: Is limited or absent. For example, systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses indicate weak or no evidence for phytochemicals from plant food consumption having an effect on breast , lung , or bladder cancers. Further, in the United States, regulations exist to limit the language on product labels for how plant food consumption may affect cancers, excluding mention of any phytochemical except for those with established health benefits against cancer, such as dietary fiber , vitamin A , and vitamin C . Phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, have been specifically discouraged from food labeling in Europe and

850-515: Is mediated by changes in turgor pressure mediated by volume changes in the epidermal cells of the bending zone. Climbing vines can take on many unique characteristics in response to changes in their environments. Climbing vines can induce chemical defenses and modify their biomass allocation in response to herbivores. In particular, the twisting vine Convolvulus arvensis increases its twining in response to herbivore-associated leaf damage, which may lead to reduced future herbivory. Additionally,

900-532: Is no evidence that taking dietary supplements of non-nutrient phytochemicals extracted from plants similarly benefits health. Phytochemical supplements are neither recommended by health authorities for improving health nor approved by regulatory agencies for health claims on product labels. While health authorities encourage consumers to eat diets rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains , legumes , and nuts to improve and maintain health, evidence that such effects result from specific, non-nutrient phytochemicals

950-822: Is optimized by the installation of trellis netting. Gardeners can use the tendency of climbing plants to grow quickly. If a plant display is wanted quickly, a climber can achieve this. Climbers can be trained over walls, pergolas, fences, etc. Climbers can be grown over other plants to provide additional attraction. Artificial support can also be provided. Some climbers climb by themselves; others need work, such as tying them in and training them. Vines widely differ in size, form and evolutionary origin. Darwin classified climbing groups based on their climbing method. He classified five classes of vines – twining plants, leaf climbers, tendril bearers, root climbers and hook climbers. Vines are unique in that they have multiple evolutionary origins. They usually reside in tropical locations and have

1000-534: Is the fern genus Lygodium , called climbing ferns . The stem does not climb, but rather the fronds (leaves) do. The fronds unroll from the tip, and theoretically never stop growing; they can form thickets as they unroll over other plants, rockfaces, and fences. A twining vine, also known as a bine , is one that climbs by its shoots growing in a helix , in contrast to vines that climb using tendrils or suckers. Many bines have rough stems or downward-pointing bristles to aid their grip. Hops (used in flavoring beer) are

1050-599: The Italian Christopher Columbus ) brought cucumbers to Haiti in 1494. In 1535, Jacques Cartier , a French explorer, found "very great cucumbers" grown on the site of what is now Montreal . Throughout the 16th century, European trappers, traders, bison hunters, and explorers bartered for the products of American Indian agriculture . The tribes of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains learned from

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1100-421: 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. The cucumber is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up trellises or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling tendrils . The plant may also root in a soilless medium , whereby it will sprawl along

1150-748: The pollen of another plant in order to form seeds and fruit. Some self-compatible cultivars exist that are related to the 'Lemon cucumber' cultivar. A few cultivars of cucumber are parthenocarpic , the blossoms of which create seedless fruit without pollination , which degrades the eating quality of these cultivar. In the United States , these are usually grown in greenhouses , where bees are excluded. In Europe , they are grown outdoors in some regions, where bees are likewise excluded. Traditional cultivars produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. Newer gynoecious hybrid cultivars produce almost all female blossoms. They may have

1200-840: The East Asian C. sativus cultivars diverged from the Indian cultivars c. 2500 years ago. It was probably introduced to Europe by the Greeks or Romans . Records of cucumber cultivation appear in France in the 9th century, England in the 14th century, and in North America by the mid-16th century. According to Pliny the Elder , the Emperor Tiberius had the cucumber on his table daily during summer and winter. In order to have it available for his table every day of

1250-787: The North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have much tougher skin. In contrast, those in other countries, often called European cucumbers , are smaller and have thinner, more delicate skin, often with fewer seeds, thus are often sold in plastic skin for protection. This variety may also be called a telegraph cucumber , particularly in Australasia . Pickling with brine , sugar, vinegar , and spices creates various flavored products from cucumbers and other foods. Although any cucumber can be pickled, commercial pickles are made from cucumbers specially bred for uniformity of length-to-diameter ratio and lack of voids in

1300-1117: The Reverend Francis Higginson produced a book called New-Englands Plantation in which, describing a garden on Conant's Island in Boston Harbor known as The Governor's Garden , he states: The countrie aboundeth naturally with store of roots of great varietie [ sic ] and good to eat. Our turnips, parsnips, and carrots are here both bigger and sweeter than is ordinary to be found in England. Here are store of pompions, cowcumbers, and other things of that nature which I know not... In New England Prospect (1633, England), William Wood published observations he made in 1629 in America: The ground affords very good kitchin gardens, for Turneps, Parsnips, Carrots, Radishes, and Pompions, Muskmillons, Isquoter-squashes, coucumbars, Onyons, and whatever grows well in England grows as well there, many things being better and larger. [ sic ] In

1350-558: The Spanish how to grow European crops. The farmers on the Great Plains included the Mandan and Abenaki . They obtained cucumbers and watermelons from the Spanish, and added them to the crops they were already growing, including several varieties of corn and beans , pumpkins , squash , and gourd plants. The Iroquois were also growing them when the first Europeans visited them. In 1630,

1400-649: The United States because there is no evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship between dietary polyphenols and inhibition or prevention of any disease. Among carotenoids such as the tomato phytochemical, lycopene , the US Food and Drug Administration found insufficient evidence for its effects on any of several cancer types, resulting in limited language for how products containing lycopene can be described on labels. Phytochemicals in freshly harvested plant foods may be degraded by processing techniques, including cooking. The main cause of phytochemical loss from cooking

1450-400: The United States have provided guidance for industry to limit or prevent health claims about phytochemicals on food product or nutrition labels . Phytochemicals are chemicals of plant origin. Phytochemicals (from Greek phyto , meaning "plant") are chemicals produced by plants through primary or secondary metabolism . They generally have biological activity in the plant host and play

1500-506: The absorption of nutrients. Others, such as some polyphenols and flavonoids, may be pro-oxidants in high ingested amounts. Non- digestible dietary fibers from plant foods, often considered as a phytochemical, are now generally regarded as a nutrient group having approved health claims for reducing the risk of some types of cancer and coronary heart disease . Eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and plant-based beverages has long-term health benefits, but there

1550-475: The body are classified as essential nutrients . The phytochemical category includes compounds recognized as essential nutrients, which are naturally contained in plants and are required for normal physiological functions , so must be obtained from the diet in humans. Some phytochemicals are known phytotoxins that are toxic to humans; for example aristolochic acid is carcinogenic at low doses. Some phytochemicals are antinutrients that interfere with

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1600-664: The cucumber is figured in Herbals of the 16th century, however stating that "[i]f hung in a tube while in blossom, the Cucumber will grow to a most surprising length." Vine#Horticultural climbing plants A vine (from Latin vīnea  ' grapevine , vineyard '; from vīnum  'wine') is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word vine can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work. In parts of

1650-483: The early modern Dutch gurken or augurken ('small pickled cucumber'). The term is also used in the name for Cucumis anguria , the West Indian gherkin , a closely related species. Burpless cucumbers are sweeter and have a thinner skin than other varieties of cucumber. They are reputed to be easy to digest and to have a pleasant taste. They can grow as long as 60 centimeters (2 ft), are nearly seedless, and have

1700-593: The flesh. Those cucumbers intended for pickling, called picklers , grow to about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) wide. Compared to slicers, picklers tend to be shorter, thicker, less-regularly shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white or black-dotted spines. Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green. Gherkins , also called cornichons , or baby pickles , are small cucumbers, typically those 2.5 to 12.5 centimetres (1 to 5 in) in length, often with bumpy skin, which are typically used for pickling. The word gherkin comes from

1750-410: The ground in lieu of a supporting structure. The vine has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruits. The fruit of typical cultivars of cucumber is roughly cylindrical , but elongated with tapered ends, and may be as large as 62 centimeters (24 in) long and 10 centimeters (4 in) in diameter. Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water (see nutrition table). In botanical terms, the cucumber

1800-517: The idea that photosynthetic responses are closely related to climbing mechanisms. Temperate twining vines, which twist tightly around supports, are typically poorly adapted for climbing beneath closed canopies due to their smaller support diameter and shade intolerance. In contrast, tendril vines usually grow on the forest floor and onto trees until they reach the surface of the canopy, suggesting that they have greater physiological plasticity. It has also been suggested that twining vines' revolving growth

1850-505: The later 17th century, a prejudice developed against uncooked vegetables and fruits. A number of articles in contemporary health publications stated that uncooked plants brought on summer diseases and should be forbidden to children. The cucumber kept this reputation for an inordinate period of time, "fit only for consumption by cows," which some believe is why it gained the name, cowcumber . Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary on 22 August 1663: [T]his day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newburne

1900-500: The leaves, cotyledons , pedicel , carpopodium , and fruit. Raw cucumber (with peel ) is 95% water, 4% carbohydrates , 1% protein , and contains negligible fat . A 100-gram ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -ounce) reference serving provides 65 kilojoules (16 kilocalories) of food energy . It has a low content of micronutrients : it is notable only for vitamin K , at 14% of the Daily Value (table). Depending on variety, cucumbers may have

1950-482: The light, a type of negative phototropism . Growth away from light allows the vine to reach a tree trunk, which it can then climb to brighter regions. The vine growth form may also enable plants to colonize large areas quickly, even without climbing high. This is the case with periwinkle and ground ivy . It is also an adaptation to life in areas where small patches of fertile soil are adjacent to exposed areas with more sunlight but little or no soil. A vine can root in

2000-649: The origin plant, followed by defining their structure or testing in laboratory model systems, such as in vitro studies using cell lines or in vivo studies using laboratory animals . Challenges in that field include isolating specific compounds and determining their structures, which are often complex, and identifying what specific phytochemical is primarily responsible for any given biological activity. Without specific knowledge of their cellular actions or mechanisms, phytochemicals have been used as poison and in traditional medicine . For example, salicin , having anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties,

2050-548: The protection of frames glazed with mirrorstone. Reportedly, they were also cultivated in specularia , cucumber houses glazed with oiled cloth. Pliny describes the Italian fruit as very small, probably like a gherkin . He also describes the preparation of a medication known as elaterium . However, some scholars believe that he was instead referring to Ecballium elaterium , known in pre- Linnean times as Cucumis silvestris or Cucumis asininus ('wild cucumber' or 'donkey cucumber'),

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2100-446: The soil but have most of its leaves in the brighter, exposed area, getting the best of both environments. The evolution of a climbing habit has been implicated as a key innovation associated with the evolutionary success and diversification of a number of taxonomic groups of plants. It has evolved independently in several plant families, using many different climbing methods, such as: The climbing fetterbush ( Pieris phillyreifolia )

2150-501: The tendrils are highly sensitive to touch and the coiling action is mediated by the hormones octadecanoids, jasmonates and indole-3-acetic acid . The touch stimulus and hormones may interact via volatile compounds or internal oscillation patterns. Research has found the presence of ion translocating ATPases in the Bryonia dioica species of plants, which has implications for a possible ion mediation tendril curling mechanism. In response to

2200-404: The tendrils of perennial vine Cayratia japonica are more likely to coil around nearby plants of another species than nearby plants of the same species in natural and experimental settings. This ability, which has only been previously documented in roots, demonstrates the vine's ability to distinguish whether another plant is of the same species as itself or a different one. In tendrilled vines,

2250-431: The unique ability to climb. Vines are able to grow in both deep shade and full sun due to their uniquely wide range of phenotypic plasticity . This climbing action prevents shading by neighbors and allows the vine to grow out of reach of herbivores. The environment where a vine can grow successfully is determined by the climbing mechanism of a vine and how far it can spread across supports. There are many theories supporting

2300-469: The world, including the British Isles, the term "vine" usually applies exclusively to grapevines, while the term "climber" is used for all climbing plants. Certain plants always grow as vines, while a few grow as vines only part of the time. For instance, poison ivy and bittersweet can grow as low shrubs when support is not available, but will become vines when support is available. A vine displays

2350-475: The year, the Romans reportedly used artificial methods of growing (similar to the greenhouse system ), whereby mirrorstone refers to Pliny's lapis specularis , believed to have been sheet mica : Indeed, he was never without it; for he had raised beds made in frames upon wheels, by means of which the cucumbers were moved and exposed to the full heat of the sun; while, in winter, they were withdrawn, and placed under

2400-472: Was 0.92 to 0.99. Phytochemicals in cucumbers may discourage natural foraging by herbivores , such as insects, nematodes or wildlife . As a possible defense mechanism, cucumbers produce cucurbitacin C , which causes a bitter taste in some cucumber varieties. This potential mechanism is under preliminary research to identify whether cucumbers are able to deter herbivores and environmental stresses by using an intrinsic chemical defense , particularly in

2450-456: Was originally extracted from the bark of the white willow tree and later synthetically produced to become the common, over-the-counter drug aspirin . The tropane alkaloids of Atropa belladonna were used as poisons, and early humans made poisonous arrows from the plant. In Ancient Rome , it was used as a poison by Agrippina the Younger , wife of Emperor Claudius on advice of Locusta ,

2500-461: Was the theme of the satirical song "Misalliance", written and sung by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann (but the lyrics confuse the direction of twining, describing honeysuckle as right-handed and bindweed as left-handed). The term "vine" also applies to Cucurbitaceae like cucumbers where botanists refer to creeping vines; in commercial agriculture the natural tendency of coiling tendrils to attach themselves to pre-existing structures or espaliers

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