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Taxon:  Cucumis prophetarum L.



Summary
Genus:
Cucumis
Subgenus:
Cucumis
Section:
Aculeatosi
Family:
Cucurbitaceae
Tribe:
Benincaseae
Nomen number:
12577
Place of publication:
Cent. pl. I:33. 1755 (Amoen. acad. 4:295. 1759)
Verified:
05/10/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System. 
Other conspecific taxa
Cucumis prophetarum L. subsp. dissectus (Naudin) C. Jeffrey (0 active accession[s])
Cucumis prophetarum L. subsp. prophetarum (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
  2. Boulos, L. Flora of Egypt. 1999-
  3. Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1985-2004 1:580.
  4. Garcia-Mas, J. et al. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships among Cucumis species based on the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequence and microsatellite markers. Pl. Syst. Evol. 248:191-203.
  5. Ghazanfar, S. A. Flora of Oman. 2003-
  6. Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:99.
  7. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. Flora of Ethiopia. 1989- (and Eritrea. 2000)
  8. Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
  9. Kirkbride, J. H., Jr. Biosystematic monograph of the genus Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae). 1993
  10. Matsumuto, Y. & M. Miyagi. 2012. Ploidy estimation in West Indian gherkin, horned melon and wild Cucumis spp. by flow cytometry. J. Hort. Forest. 4:111-113.
  11. Matsumuto, Y. & M. Miyagi. 2012. Ploidy estimation in West Indian gherkin, horned melon and wild Cucumis spp. by flow cytometry. J. Hort. Forest. 4:111-113.
  12. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  13. Renner, S. S. & A. K. Pandey. 2013. The Cucurbitaceae of India: accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences. PhytoKeys 20:69.
  14. Schaefer, H. 2007. Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae) must include Cucumella, Dicoelospermum, Mukia, Myrmecosicyos, and Oreosyce: a recircumscription based on nuclear and plastid DNA data. Blumea 52:169.
  15. Sebastian, P. et al. 2010. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and melon (C. melo) have numerous wild relatives in Asia and Australia, and the sister species of melon is from Australia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107:14269-14273.
  16. Sebastian, P. et al. 2010. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and melon (C. melo) have numerous wild relatives in Asia and Australia, and the sister species of melon is from Australia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107:14269-14273.
  17. Singh, A. K. & K. S. Yadava. 1984. An analysis of interspecific hybrids and phylogenetic implications in Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae). Pl. Syst. Evol. 147:237-252.
  18. Singh, A. K. & K. S. Yadava. 1984. An analysis of interspecific hybrids and phylogenetic implications in Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae). Pl. Syst. Evol. 147:237-252.
  19. Thulin, M., ed. Flora of Somalia. 1993-
  20. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. Flora of tropical East Africa. 1952-
  21. Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
  22. Wood, J. R. I. A handbook of the flora of Yemen. 1997
Common names
English
wild cucumber –
Swedish
profetgurka –
Urdu (Pakistan)
kharchvit –
kharindroyan –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaUganda  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaChad  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEritrea  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaMali  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaMauritania  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNiger  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNigeria  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSenegal  
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaRwanda  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaOman  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaQatar  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaSaudi Arabia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaUnited Arab Emirates  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaYemen  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIraq  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIsrael  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaJordan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
Native
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Rwanda
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
  • WESTERN ASIA: Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Pakistan
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Medicinesfolklore Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:99.
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://ausgenebank.agriculture.vic.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=12577. Accessed 17 April 2026.

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