Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
A tender, sprawling annual of the gourd family, climbing by branched tendrils over rough, angular stems. The broad, shallowly five-lobed leaves are harsh to the touch, and the yellow funnel-shaped flowers give way to cylindrical green fruit, spiny or warted while young. Grown for the fruit, picked immature and eaten raw or pickled.
Not a wild plant in Britain and Ireland. A native of the Himalayan foothills, grown here in greenhouses, polytunnels and warm sheltered plots. Frost-tender and killed by the first cold nights; seedlings appear on compost heaps and tips but do not persist.
The fruit is eaten raw and needs no preparation. Occasional fruit, usually from a stressed plant or saved seed, is strongly bitter with cucurbitacins and can cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea, so taste a slice from the stem end and discard anything bitter. Leaves and stems are not eaten, and some people find skin and seeds hard to digest.
Always use more than one reference to confirm a plant. You are responsible for what you choose to forage.
Growth habit
Rough, angular, bristly stems that trail or climb by branched tendrils arising beside the leaf stalks. Bush marrow and courgette plants of the same family have no climbing tendrils.
Leaves
Broad and triangular in outline with three to five shallow, pointed lobes, up to about 20cm across, on long stalks. Both surfaces are stiffly hairy and harsh to a stroked finger.
Flowers
Bright yellow, five-lobed and funnel-shaped, male and female borne separately on the same plant. Female flowers sit on a miniature spiny cucumber, so a fruiting shoot can be recognised days before the fruit swells.
Fruit surface
Immature fruit is ridged and set with soft white or dark spines that rub off in the hand, leaving a smooth green skin. Warts and spines fade as the fruit yellows and passes eating condition.
Bitterness test
Cut a thin slice from the stem end, where cucurbitacins concentrate, and taste it. A clean, mild flavour means the whole fruit is fine; a sharp bitterness means the fruit should be discarded rather than peeled.
Updated 2026-08-07T21:05:48.667Z · Part of the shared Foragers Log catalogue · Vegetable