Plant Wiki

The open plant encyclopedia

Know any plant.
Grow it well.

Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.

  • 13,000+plants with full pages
  • 365,000+plant species worldwide
  • 220+countries covered

Common in

See all

The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.

What do you want to do?

Popular plants

Browse all plants

See them in 3D

All plants in 3D

Browse plants

Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.

Plant Wiki › Browse plants

Gemsbok Cucumber

Acanthosicyos naudinianus

Gemsbok Cucumber
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0

Gemsbok cucumber is a perennial, dioecious desert melon from the Namib and Kalahari region of southern Africa, grown for its edible spiny fruit and seeds. It needs hot, dry conditions, sandy soil and sharp drainage, and it cannot tolerate frost.

Family
Cucurbitaceae (Gourd family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly once established; allow soil to dry out between waterings.
Soil
Sandy, well-drained soil.
Temperature
Warm conditions; protect from frost (suitable for USDA zone 9 and warmer).
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Mildly toxic: The tuberous roots are poisonous; unripe fruit causes a burning sensation in the mouth.
Edible
Yes, some parts

About

Acanthosicyos naudinianus, known as the Gemsbok cucumber, is a perennial African melon with edible fruits and seeds.

Where it grows

A. naudinianus is found in southern Africa, specifically Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Angola, and South Africa. Its native habitat is woodland, wooded grasslands, and grasslands. It prefers sandy soil and does not tolerate frost. It may be grown in USDA zone 9.

Other Citrullus plants

Colocynth · Namib Tsamma · Watermelon

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acanthosicyos naudinianus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Credits & terms

Identify a plant

Point at a leaf or flower and snap. One plant in frame works best.

Your photo
Starting camera…