Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Cucumber

CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus), an article of food, having yellow unisexual male and female flowers in the axils of the leaf stalks. The leaves are large, the stems weak and trailing. It is a native of the S. of Asia and of Egypt. It is mentioned by Vergil. It is said to have been common in England during the reign of Edward III., A. D. 1327-1377. Having gone out of culture during the Wars of the Roses, it was re-introduced under Henry VIII. from the Netherlands, between 1509 and 1547, probably about 1538.