Cyclanthera brachystachya

Exploding cucumber
Foliage and fruit (cultivated)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cyclanthera
Species:	C. brachystachya
Binomial name
Cyclanthera brachystachya (DC.) Cogn.
Synonyms
Cyclanthera explodens Naudin[1]

Cyclanthera brachystachya, the exploding cucumber (but not to be confused with Ecballium elaterium), in the cucurbit or gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), is a herbaceous vine usually grown for its curiosity value, but the fruit is also edible.^[1]

It is native from Guatemala south to Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.^[1]

It is a scrambling or trailing annual plant growing up to 3 m long, with hairless stems. The leaves are 5–10 cm diameter, with three or five lobes, and a 3 cm petiole. The unusual fruit are 2–4 cm long, curved but bilaterally symmetrical, bulbous and spiny; they explode when ripe to disperse the 7–9 mm wide seeds.^[2] The plant is monoecious, producing both male and female flowers on the same plant in mid-summer.^[2]

It is propagated by its puzzle-piece-shaped seed, and grown in conditions similar to other cucurbits like cucumbers and melons. It prefers warm to hot climates with regular watering. Once established the vine can grow quickly up to 3–5 m. Although preferably grown over some kind of support, it can also be grown along the ground.

The fruit can be used raw when small (less than 2 cm) in salads, or cooked when mature (2.5 cm, exploded).

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  Plant
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  Fruit
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  exploded fruit
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  Shoot
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  Tendril
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  Seeds
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  Seeds

Media related to Cyclanthera brachystachya at Wikimedia Commons