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thumb|[[Horned melon|Horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus)]]

Cucumis is a genus of twining, tendril-bearing plants in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes the cucumber (Cucumis sativus), true melons (Cucumis melo, including cantaloupe and honeydew), the horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus), and the West Indian gherkin (Cucumis anguria).

30 species occur in Africa, and 25 occur in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. However, Cucumis myriocarpus was introduced to Australia from Sub-Saharan Africa, and is regarded as an invasive species.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted 61 species:

  • Cucumis aculeatus <small>Cogn.</small>
  • Cucumis aetheocarpus <small>(C.Jeffrey) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis africanus <small>L.f.</small>
  • Cucumis althaeoides <small>(Ser.) P.Sebastian & I.Telford</small>
  • Cucumis anguria <small>L.</small>
  • Cucumis argenteus <small>(Domin) P.Sebastian & I.Telford</small>
  • Cucumis asper <small>Cogn.</small>
  • Cucumis baladensis <small>Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis bryoniifolius <small>(Merxm.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis canoxyi <small>Thulin & Al-Gifri</small>
  • Cucumis carolinus <small>J.H.Kirkbr.</small>
  • Cucumis cinereus <small>(Cogn.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis clavipetiolatus <small>(J.H.Kirkbr.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis costatus <small>I.Telford</small>
  • Cucumis debilis <small>W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes</small>
  • Cucumis dipsaceus <small>Ehrenb. ex Spach</small>
  • Cucumis engleri <small>(Gilg) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis ficifolius <small>A.Rich.</small>
  • Cucumis globosus <small>C.Jeffrey</small>
  • Cucumis gracilis <small>(Kurz) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis hastatus <small>Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis heptadactylus <small>Naudin</small>
  • Cucumis hirsutus <small>Sond.</small>
  • Cucumis humifructus <small>Stent</small> (as Cucumis humofructus)
  • Cucumis hystrix <small>Chakrav.</small>
  • Cucumis indicus <small>Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis insignis <small>C.Jeffrey</small>
  • Cucumis javanicus <small>(Miq.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis jeffreyanus <small>Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis kalahariensis <small>A.Meeuse</small>
  • Cucumis kelleri <small>(Cogn.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis kirkbridei <small>Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis leiospermus <small>(Wight & Arn.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis maderaspatanus <small>L.</small>
  • Cucumis meeusei <small>C.Jeffrey</small>
  • Cucumis melo <small>L.</small>
  • Cucumis messorius <small>(C.Jeffrey) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis metuliferus <small>E.Mey. ex Naudin</small>
  • Cucumis myriocarpus <small>Naudin</small>
  • Cucumis omissus <small>Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis picrocarpus <small>F.Muell.</small>
  • Cucumis prophetarum <small>L.</small>
  • Cucumis pubituberculatus <small>Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis pustulatus <small>Naudin ex Hook.f.</small>
  • Cucumis queenslandicus <small>I.Telford</small>
  • Cucumis quintanilhae <small>R.Fern. & A.Fern.</small>
  • Cucumis reticulatus <small>(A.Fern. & R.Fern.) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis rigidus <small>E.Mey. ex Sond.</small>
  • Cucumis ritchiei <small>(C.B.Clarke) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis rostratus <small>J.H.Kirkbr.</small>
  • Cucumis rumphianus <small>(Scheff.) H.Schaef.</small>
  • Cucumis sacleuxii <small>Paill. & Bois</small>
  • Cucumis sagittatus <small>Wawra & Peyr.</small>
  • Cucumis sativus <small>L.</small>, cucumber
  • Cucumis setosus <small>Cogn.</small>
  • Cucumis silentvalleyi <small>(Manilal, T.Sabu & P.Mathew) Ghebret. & Thulin</small>
  • Cucumis thulinianus <small>J.H.Kirkbr.</small>
  • Cucumis umbellatus <small>I.Telford</small>
  • Cucumis variabilis <small>P.Sebastian & I.Telford</small>
  • Cucumis zambianus <small>Widrl., J.H.Kirkbr., Ghebret. & K.R.Reitsma</small>
  • Cucumis zeyheri <small>Sond.</small>

See also

  • Bailan melon
  • Galia melon
  • Gaya melon
  • Hami melon
  • Korean melon
  • Santa Claus melon
  • Sugar melon
  • Winter melon

References

Further reading

  • Ghebretinsae, A. G., Thulin, M. & Barber, J. C. (2007). Relationships of cucumbers and melons unraveled: molecular phylogenetics of Cucumis and related genera (Benincaseae, Cucurbitaceae). American Journal of Botany 94(7): 1256–1266.
  • Sebastian, P. M., H. Schaefer, I. R. H. Telford, and S. S. Renner. 2010. Cucumber and melon have their wild progenitors in India, and the sister species of Cucumis melo is from Australia" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(32) 14269–14273 (online)
  • Telford, I. R. H., P. M. Sebastian, J. J. Bruhl, and S. S. Renner. 2011. Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae) in Australia and eastern Malesia, including newly recognized species and the sister species to C. melo. Systematic Botany 36(2): 376-389 (online)
  • Multilingual taxonomic information at the University of Melbourne