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Ecballium elaterium
| Common name: |
Squirting Cucumber |
Family: |
Cucurbitaceae |
| Author: |
(L.)A.Rich. |
Botanical references: |
46, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Poisonous in large quantities[7] (this probably refers to the fruit). The juice of the fruit is irritative to some skins[148]. |
| Range: |
Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in Britain at a few locations along the south coast[17]. |
| Habitat: |
Hot dry places on waste ground and roadsides[45, 86], usually close to the coast[7]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
0 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Momordica elaterium[B,G,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Cohombrillo Amargo [E], Cucumber, Squirting [S], Cucumber,Squirting [E], Esekhiyari [E], Squirting Cucumber [H,P,S], Squirting-cucumber [B], Wild Cucumber [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
ater = black
lateri = side, referring to the configuration of the flowers in one-sided racemes.
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Violales. Cucumber family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Greece
Spain Turkey
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Tasmaina. |
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 0.3m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Insects.
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 0/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Abortifacient
Analgesic Antirheumatic Cardiac Kidney Purgative.
The squirting cucumber has been used as a medicinal plant for over
2,000 years, though it has a very violent effect upon the body and has little
use in modern herbalism[238, 268].
The juice of the fruit is antirheumatic, cardiac and purgative[1, 7, 61, 86,
89]. The plant is a very powerful purgative that causes evacuation of water
from the bowels[238]. It is used internally in the treatment of oedema
associated with kidney complaints, heart problems, rheumatism, paralysis and
shingles[86, 238]. Externally, it has been used to treat sinusitis and
painful joints[238]. It should be used with great caution and only under the
supervision of a qualified practitioner[4, 238]. Excessive doses have caused
gastro-enteritis and even death[7]. It should not be used by pregnant women
since it can cause an abortion[7].
The fully grown but unripe fruits are harvested during the summer, they are
left in containers until the contents are expelled and the juice is then
dried for later use[46, 238].
The root contains an analgesic principle[240].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Prefers a moist well-drained soil in a sunny position[86, 200]. Grows
best in a rich soil[1]. Another report says that it succeeds in poor
soils[238].
The foliage is fairly frost-tender, though the roots are much hardier and
plants can survive quite cold winters in Britain[86]. They are more likely to
be killed by excessive winter wet[86].
The squirting cucumber is sometimes cultivated for its use as a medicinal
plant[46].
The ripening fruit becomes pumped full of liquid, leading to an increase in
pressure. As the seed becomes ripe, this pressure forces the fruit to break
away explosively from the plant, ejecting its seed to a considerable distance
in the opposite direction. The plant occasionally self-sows in our &ndndndnd
trial ground[K] and can become a weed in warmer climates than Britain[K]. It
is subject to statutory control as a weed in Australia[238].
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring in rich compost in a greenhouse. Place 2 - 3
seeds per pot and thin to the strongest plant. The seed usually germinates in
10 - 21 days at 25° c[175]. Grow the plants on fast and plant them out after
the last expected frosts.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for ecballium elaterium (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[45] Polunin. O. Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. Oxford University Press 1980 ISBN 0-19-217626-9
A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[86] Organ. J. Gourds. Faber 1963
Deals with squashes and their relatives. Interesting and readable, it gives cultivation techniques and some details of plant uses.
[89] Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
[148] Niebuhr. A. D. Herbs of Greece. Herb Society of America. 1970
A pleasant little book about Greek herbs.
[175] Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') Thompson and Morgan. 1991
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Ecballium+elaterium
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Ecballium+elaterium
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