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Order: Cucurbitales;
Family: Cucurbitaceae;
Genus: Cucumis;
Species and synonyms: Common cucumber (Cucumis sativus).

GBIF: Cucumis sativus L.

The cucumber symbol in Unicode — 🥒

Common cucumber (lat. Cucumis sativus) is an annual herbaceous vegetable plant from the family Cucurbitaceae, order Cucurbitales. The name was borrowed from Medieval Greek ἄγουρος (cucumber), going back to ἄωρος ("unripe") — a vegetable eaten in an unripe state. Cucumber was introduced into cultivation more than 6,000 years ago. Its homeland is the tropical and subtropical regions of India (the foothills of the Himalayas), where it still grows in the wild. Mentioned in the Bible as a vegetable consumed in Egypt.

The crop was known to the Greeks, from whom it passed to the Romans; in the era of Charlemagne, it spread across Central Europe. In Greece (in Homer's time), there was a city of Sicyon ("city of cucumbers"). The first mention of cucumbers in the Russian state was made by the German ambassador Herberstein in 1528 in his notes on a journey to Muscovy. One of the most common dishes in Russia in the 16th century was "black fish soup" — a soup where meat was boiled in cucumber brine with spices and herbs. Today, the cucumber is widespread everywhere and has many varieties and cultivars. The fruits of wild cucumbers are small, sometimes inedible due to their high content of bitter substances — cucurbitacins.

Cucumbers are suitable for consumption raw, widely used in cooking as an ingredient in various dishes, for preserving (lightly salted, pickled, salted cucumbers), and are very popular in salads.

In cooking, cucumbers are eaten fresh (in salads, with salt, in okroshka, in cold soups), salted, lightly salted, pickled, fermented, preserved, and also added to solyankas, rassolniks, azu, stews, sauces, appetizers, sandwiches, rolls, sushi, pizza, pasta, potato dishes, and meat and fish dishes. Cucumber brine is used for making dough, sauces, beverages (medicinal, refreshing), and as a base for soups (for example, rassolnik). Cucumbers pair well with tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, cabbage, herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, tarragon), garlic, sour cream, yogurt, mayonnaise, vegetable oil, vinegar, lemon juice, meat, fish, eggs, boiled potatoes, peas, corn, and olives.

Cucumber is rich in water (95–97%), fiber, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, iron, iodine, silicon, chlorine, vitamins (C, K, H, B vitamins), folic acid, antioxidants (flavonoids, carotenoids), and organic acids (malic, citric, oxalic). In folk medicine, cucumber is used as a diuretic, laxative, choleretic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, calming, and cosmetic remedy (face masks, hair growth), for diseases of the kidneys, liver, gallbladder, intestines, stomach, skin, for improving digestion, metabolism, and the condition of skin, hair, and nails.