Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

  [   PIER species lists  ]   [   PIER home  ]

Cucumis anguria
L., Cucurbitaceae
Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES


Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Cucumis longipes Hook. f.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: West Indian gherkin, bur cucumber, bur gherkin, gooseberry gourd, wild cucumber

French: angourie des Antilles, concombre des Antilles, concombre marron, concombre-cornichon, petit concombre

Spanish: anguria, cohombro espinoso, concombro, pepineto, pepino, pepino cimarrón, pepino de sabana, sandia de ratón

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual; stems prostrate or scandent, to 3 m., patent-setulose. Leaf-lamina 3-10 x 3.5-12-5 cm., broadly ovate in outline, broadly and shallowly cordate, punctate and setulose becoming scabrid-setose on veins beneath, scabrid-setulose becoming punctate above, margins ± sinuate-denticulate, palmately (3) 5 (7)-lobed, usually deeply, lobes narrowly to broadly elliptic, rhombic, obovate-elliptic or less often ovate-triangular or triangular, obtuse to rounded, apiculate, the central largest, often shortly 3-lobulate. Petiole 2-12 cm. long, patent-setulose. Flowers monoecious. male flowers 2-10 in subsessile fascicles; pedicels 6-30 mm. long. Receptacle-tube 2-4 mm. long, lobes 1.2-3 mm. long. Petals 3-7.5 mm. long, yellow. female flowers solitary, sometimes co-axillary with male; pedicels 18-105 mm. long; ovary 7-9 x 60-9 mm., broadly ellipsoid, shortly rostrate, softly spiny; perianth similar to that of male flower. Fruit 3-4.5 x 2.5-3.5 cm., ellipsoid to sub-globose, softly spiny, at least proximally, green or green striped paler green becoming yellow when ripe; spines 3-11 mm. long; fruit-stalk 2.5-21 cm. long, expanded upwards. Seeds 5-6 x 2.2-2.7 x 1.0-1.3 mm., elliptic in outline, compressed, with rounded margins, smooth" (Flora Zambesiaca online).

Habitat/ecology:  In its native range, "Woodland and wooded grassland, often on Kalahari sand, and on abandoned cultivated land 200-1500 m" (Flora Zambesiaca online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Eastern and southern Africa, cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in tropics (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
French Polynesia
Marquesas Islands
Eiao Island introduced
invasive
Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
Naturalisée
French Polynesia
Marquesas Islands
Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island introduced
invasive
Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia
Marquesas Islands
Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island introduced
invasive
Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
Naturalisée
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
O‘ahu Island   Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1993) (voucher ID: BISH 633633)
Taxon name on voucher: Cucumis anguria L.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Archipelago
Île Grande Terre introduced
invasive
MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 45)
Voucher cited: MacKee 28885
Spontané
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia
Australia (continental)
Queensland introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Costa Rica (Republic of) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Guatemala (Republic of) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Honduras (Republic of) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Nicaragua (Republic of) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Central America
Central America (Pacific rim)
Panama (Republic of) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Mexico
Mexico
Mexico (United Mexican States) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Ecuador (Republic of) (continental) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Perú (Republic of) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
La Réunion (France)
La Réunion Island
La Réunion Island introduced
cultivated
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Seychelles
Seychelles Islands
Seychelles Islands introduced
Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)
Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
United States (continental except west coast)
United States (other states)
USA (Florida) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cucumis anguria, please let us know.


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

  [   PIER species lists  ]   [   PIER home  ]

This page was created on 5 MAR 2007 and was last updated on 17 MAR 2013.