CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus), a creeping plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. It is widely cultivated, and originated probably in northern India. It is an annual with a rough succulent trailing stem and stalked hairy leaves with three to five pointed lobes; the stem bears branched tendrils by which the plant can be trained to supports. The short-stalked, bell-shaped flowers are unisexual, but staminate and pistillate are borne on the same plant ; the latter are recognized by the swollen warty green ovary below the rest of the flower. Pollination is dependent on some outside agency such as bees. Cucumbers grown in frames or a greenhouse may be pollinated by keeping a hive nearby or inside.
There are many varieties of cucumber in cultivation, which may be grouped under the two headings : (I) Forcing, large-leaved, strong-growing plants, not suited to outdoor culture, with long smooth-rinded fruit ; there are many excellent varieties such as Telegraph, Sion House, Duke of Edinburgh, etc. (2) The outdoor varieties known as hill or ridge cucumbers. They may be grown in any good soil.