Another new and unusual veggie that’s begun growing fruits (and hopefully will make lots once I start picking them): Cucumis anguria, the Burr Gherkin!
A funny little African vine, with roughly three- to five-fingered leaves, they can grow to more than 8 feet in length and often branch heavily especially from the base stem. The fruits are relatively small and oval, varying from heavily covered in hairs and small spines to only just a little more than bumpy like this lineage is. Unlike my last cucurbit post (hedgehog cucumbers), whose fruits are wickedly bitter even when young -and yes, I tested that personally- these ones are a bit more like cucamelons, sometimes turning a little bitter once seeded out and ripening yellow but otherwise tend to be relatively mild or slightly tangy, like you added lemon to it. Supposedly they make for a good source of firm mini pickles too. This one is going to be permitted to grow all over the rocks outside, but also seems to be manageable enough that I may start another to keep indoors when winter arrives…to provide fresh greens to munch on when everything is cold and dead outdoors.

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A new fruit finally appears!
Though I had the vine first growing in the greenhouse in winter, only now has it begun to get properly pollinated and make fruit: Cucumis dipsaceus, the Hedgehog or Arabian Cucumber. As the name suggests it’s native to the Arabian Peninsula, as well as northeastern Africa, and like other plants in the genus tends to grow as a scrambling ground over vine or trailing up nearby vegetation and supports. Also like its relatives it makes separate male and female flowers, and they have to both be open and visited by a pollinator to set fruit.
Though called a cucumber…this plant is generally not considered to have edible fruits. They can be eaten when very young and green however tend to have a bitter side to them, which only gets stronger as they ripen and turn yellow. Cooking can reduce this somewhat, though will also often liquefy the fruit. The bristles, though soft until maturity, also tend to make for an odd texture.
On the other hand, young shoots and leaves are regularly eaten as a cooked vegetable or powdered into a thickening agent.
This is only the first of hopefully several odd cucurbits to make themselves known, which Burr Gherkins, Kabocha Squash, and others also starting to finally fruit out.

#cucumis #cucumisdipsaceus #cucumber #plants #edibleplants #nature #plantsathome #botany #plantsmakepeoplehappy #educational #horticulture #gardening #carltoncarnivores