Squirting cucumber 

Squirting Cucumber
A fruit of the squirting cucumber
A fruit of the squirting cucumber
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Ecballium
Species: E. elaterium
Binomial name
Ecballium elaterium
(L.) A.Rich.

Ecballium elaterium, also called the squirting cucumber or exploding cucumber, is a plant in the cucumber family. It gets its unusual name from the fact that, when ripe, it squirts a stream of mucilaginous liquid containing its seeds, which can be seen with the naked eye. It is thus considered to have rapid plant movement.

It is native to Europe, northern Africa, and temperate areas of Asia.1 It is grown as an ornamental plant elsewhere, and in some places it has naturalized.12

This plant, and especially its fruit, is poisonous. In the ancient world it saw use as an abortifacient.

References

  1. ^ a b "Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich.". Germplasm Resources Information Network.
  2. ^ "Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich.". USDA PLANTS.

External links

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