Types of Vines
Gourd Family Cucumber , common name for a trailing or climbing annual herb of the gourd family. Native to Asia, it is widely cultivated in North America and Europe for the immature fruit, which resembles a long, green cylinder. The fruit is picked at various stages of development and is usually eaten raw or pickled. Small cucumbers, picked when they are 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in) long, are known as gherkins. Different varieties of cucumbers vary in length from about 10 to 76 cm (about 4 to 30 in). If the cucumber is allowed to mature, the fruit bulges in the middle, changes in color from green to yellow, and is not fit to eat. Scientific classification: The cucumber belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It is classified as Cucumis sativus. Gourd , common name for a family of plants consisting of characteristically rapid-growing vines with palmately lobed leaves, helically twisted tendrils, and often showy, unisexual flowers. The family contains about 760 species that are distributed mainly i...