Editing Cucumber (section)

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant that produces cucumbers}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Cucumber
|image = ARS_cucumber.jpg
|image_caption = Cucumbers growing on vines
|image_alt = Photograph of cucumber vine with fruits, flowers and leaves visible
|image2 = Cucumber BNC.jpg
|image2_caption = A single cucumber fruit
|genus = Cucumis
|species = sativus
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

The '''cucumber''' ('''''Cucumis sativus''''') is a widely-cultivated [[Vine#Horticultural climbing plants|creeping vine]] plant in the family [[Cucurbitaceae]] that bears cylindrical to spherical [[fruit]]s, which are used as [[culinary vegetable]]s.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">"[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/145850/cucumber Cucumber]." ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. [1998] 2019.</ref> Considered an annual plant,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Silvertown |first1=Jonathan |title=Survival, Fecundity and Growth of Wild Cucumber, Echinocystis Lobata |journal=Journal of Ecology |date=1985 |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=841–849 |doi=10.2307/2260151|jstor=2260151 |bibcode=1985JEcol..73..841S }}</ref> there are three main types of cucumber—slicing, [[Pickled cucumber|pickling]], and [[Seedless fruit|seedless]]—within which several [[cultivar]]s have been created. The cucumber originates in [[Asia]] extending from [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Bangladesh]], [[China]] ([[Yunnan]], [[Guizhou]], [[Guangxi]]), and [[Northern Thailand]],<ref name="nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com">{{cite journal |last1=Chomicki |first1=Guillaume |last2=Schaefer |first2=Hanno |last3=Renner |first3=Susanne S. |title=Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology |url=https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.16015 |journal=New Phytologist |pages=1240–1255 |language=en |doi=10.1111/nph.16015 |date=June 2020|volume=226 |issue=5 |pmid=31230355 |bibcode=2020NewPh.226.1240C }}</ref><ref name="Plant Breeding Reviews">{{cite book |last1=Weng |first1=Yiqun |chapter=Cucumis sativus Chromosome Evolution, Domestication, and Genetic Diversity: Implications for Cucumber Breeding |title=Plant Breeding Reviews |date=7 January 2021 |pages=79–111 |doi=10.1002/9781119717003.ch4 |chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119717003.ch4 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-119-71700-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=powo>{{cite web |title=''Cucumis sativus'' L. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:292296-1|access-date=23 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="tandfonline.com">{{cite journal |last1=Bisht |first1=I. S. |last2=Bhat |first2=K.V. |last3=Tanwar |first3=S. P. S. |last4=Bhandari |first4=D. C. |last5=Joshi |first5=Kamal |last6=Sharma |first6=A. K. |title=Distribution and genetic diversity of Cucumis sativus var. hardwickii (Royle) Alef in India |journal=The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology |date=January 2004 |volume=79 |issue=5 |pages=783–791 |doi=10.1080/14620316.2004.11511843 |bibcode=2004JHSB...79..783B |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14620316.2004.11511843 |language=en |issn=1462-0316|url-access=subscription }}</ref> but now grows on most [[continent]]s, and many different types of cucumber are grown commercially and traded on the [[global market]]. In [[North America]], the term ''[[wild cucumber]]'' refers to plants in the [[Genus|genera]] ''[[Echinocystis]]'' and ''[[Marah (plant)|Marah]]'', though the two are not closely related.