Cucumber

The cucumber is an annual creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up trellises or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling tendrils. The plant can root in a soilless medium, then sprawl along the ground in the absence 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 is classified as a pepo, a type of botanical berry with seeds and an outer rind. In a culinary context, it is considered a vegetable.

Cultivars and pollination. Most cucumber cultivars are seeded and require pollination. For this purpose, thousands of honey beehives are carried to cucumber fields each year just before bloom. Cucumbers can be pollinated by bumblebees and several other wild bee species. Most cucumbers that require pollination are self-incompatible, thus requiring 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. Some cultivars are parthenocarpic, creating seedless fruit without pollination; these are often grown in greenhouses. …

Raw cucumber (with peel) is 95% water, 4% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a reference amount of 100 grams (3+1⁄2 ounces), raw cucumber provides 65 kilojoules (16 kilocalories) of food energy, and has a low content of micronutrients notable only for vitamin K at 14% of the Daily Value (table).

Cultivated for at least 3,000 years, "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. The three main cultivar groups of cucumber are Eurasian cucumbers (slicing cucumbers eaten raw and immature), East Asian cucumbers (pickling cucumbers), and Xishuangbanna cucumbers. Based on demographic modelling, the East Asian C. sativus cultivars diverged from the Indian cultivars about 2,500 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.

Roman Empire. According to Pliny the Elder, the Emperor Tiberius had the cucumber on his table daily during summer and winter. …