Ilcsi Organic Skin Care

Cucumber

Cucumis sativus L.

Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae / Gourd Family
Genus: Cucumis

Description

Use in
alternative medicine

Use in
cosmetics

Active ingredients

In its land of origin, India, cucumber has been cultivated for 3000 years, but it was also known and consumed in ancient Europe. It was introduced in Western and Central Europe during the Middle Ages and it spread relatively quickly among the peasantry. In his work “Posoni kert” (“The Garden of Bratislava” – 1664), János Lippay described in detail how to prepare pickled cucumbers and so-called “leavened” cucumbers. Cucumbers are to be found in a chapter of a work by János Nadányi, “Kerti dolgoknak leírása” (“Description of Garden Things” – 1669), called ‘Alexikepus, avagy orvos kert’ (Alexikepus, or a doctor’s garden). The author placed plants in eight fields, where cucumbers were placed in the fourth field in the company of squash, melon, watermelon, artichoke, strawberries, blackberries, and currant. The work of József Csapó, “Új füves és virágos magyar kert” (“New Hungarian Herb and Flower Garden” – 1775), includes cucumber under the names ‘ugorka’ and ‘buborka’ (which are very similar to the Hungarian name for cucumber, ‘uborka’). According to Csapó, cucumber seeds crushed in water and the brine of leavened cucumbers may be administered to those suffering from fevers, while raw cucumber juice may be used to alleviate symptoms in the case of consumption. By the first half of the 19th century, the areas surrounding Nagykőrös and Kecskemét became the most important regions of cucumber production in Hungary, from where its conserved fruits were transported in large quantities to the markets of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until the end of World War I. In the years following the Treaty of Trianon (peace treaty concluded between the Allies and Hungary in 1920) production temporarily declined because of the loss of markets, but the construction of food preserving factories gave new momentum to production in the thirties, to such an extent, that right before World War II cucumbers were placed second after onions only among vegetables exported. In addition to pickling cucumbers, salad cucumbers also play an important role in production, the latter being primarily grown in greenhouses. Cucumbers are annual, diclinous, monoecious plants. They need light, they like warmth, and they need lots of water. Their thin, extensive, sensitive root systems are located in the upper layer of the soil. Stems are climbing, angular, hairy, and their lengths may reach 1-3 metres depending on the variety. They run up supports or along the ground with the help of tendrils growing from the nodes. Leaves are digitately lobed, have large laminas, and are attached to the stems with long, hairy stalks. Their vivid yellow flowers are fragrant, produce much nectar, and blossom singly or in groups in the axils. Cucumber varieties may be classed in three types, according to how their flowers are formed. Varieties of the monoecious flowering type have male and female flowers mixed together. On a plant of a gynoecious variety, a male flower may only form at the first node, all other flowers will have pistils. On plants of mostly pistillate varieties, male flowers develop in the first 4-10 nodes, but in upper nodes only female flowers develop. Fruits of cucumber are pepos. Fruits are also grouped according to size: short or pickling cucumbers, or gherkins are shorter than 14 cm, semi-long fruits are 14-30 cm long. The size of cucumbers of the long, slicing cucumber type exceeds 30 centimetres. The colour of rinds is medium to dark green, rinds may be smooth, ridged, warted, thorny, or hairy. The colour of ripe fruits is an important variety characteristic and may vary from yellowish white through orange to yellowish brown. Seeds are ivory coloured, drop-shaped, and flat. Cucumbers are popular vegetables which may be used in many ways and their breeding is also an important objective of breeding work. Farmers and hobby gardeners may choose from a multitude of Hungarian and foreign varieties depending on their production goals.

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