‘Greek from Peloponese’

Ref: CUCU_MI_MELO_FLEX_001

Common Name: Armenian Cucumber / Concombre Armenien / Ξυλάγγουρο (Ατζούρι)

Scientific Name: Cucumis melo flexuosus

Plant’s cycle: Annual

Light Requirement: full sun

Soil type: Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil. pH 6.2 – 7.2

Sowing in nursery: April

Direct Planting: May

Germination: 7 to 8 days after sowing (15 – 28 ºC)

Harvest:    90 to 120 days after sowing

Spacing: 100cm/100cm/2cm deep  

Flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant)

Pollination: by insects

Plant is self-fertile

Seed preservation: 5 years

Edible Parts: Fruit, Seed

Medicine: Antitussive;  Diuretic; Emetic; Vermifuge

The fruits can be used as a cooling light cleanser or moisturiser for the skin. They are also used as a first aid treatment for burns and abrasions. The flowers are expectorant and emetic. The fruit is stomachic. The seed is antitussive, digestive, febrifuge and vermifuge. When used as a vermifuge, the whole seed complete with the seed coat is ground into a fine flour, then made into an emulsion with water and eaten. It is then necessary to take a purge in order to expel the tapeworms or other parasites from the body. The root is diuretic and emetic.

Known Hazards: The sprouting seed produces a toxic substance in its embryo.