An annual with a rough-stemmed, trailing vine. Fruits range from small, stubby types only a few centimetres long to giants of half a metre in length, with rough or smooth skin and green or white flesh. The local cucumber is a thick, short fruit, green with yellow streaks (20-25 cm long). Another variety very common here is described by Milsum and Grist: "Malays grow a variety with large reddish-brown fruits.....It is known as timun ladang and is popular with Asiatics."
Origin
A variety with large reddish-brown fruits.
The cucumber is an important food plant unknown in the wild, although similar species
occur in Northern India, south of the Himalayas - the presumed home of the cucumber. The
species has spread east and west before Christian times and was cultivated in France by
the ninth century.
Health benefits: Composed primarily of water. The hard skin of the cucumber is an excellent source of important minerals, including silica which contributes to the strength of our body's connective tissue which include intracellular cement, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bone. The juice is a source of silicon that helps to improve complexion and health of skin.
Cautions: It is not recommended for those with watery mucus or diarrhea.
Another variety of cucumber
The green variety of cucumber is excellent as salad vegetable. It can be seasoned in vinegar, brine and spice to become pickles or cooked simply as a table vegetable. The larger, reddish-brown variety is employed in soups, boiled with pork ribs and dried Chinese red dates.