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Cucumis metuliferus
Also called Jelly Melon, African Horned Melon, Horned Cucumber, Horned Melon, Jelly Melon / Rooikomkommer, Horny Cucumber
Cucumis metuliferus, the African horned cucumber, is a scrambling annual vine in the gourd family, grown for its spiny orange fruit with lime-green jelly-like flesh. Give it a warm, sunny spot with a trellis and a long frost-free season.
Cucumis metuliferus, also known as the African horned cucumber (shortened to horned cucumber), horned melon, spiked melon, jelly melon, or kiwano, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family Cucurbitaceae. Its fruit has horn-like spines, hence the name "horned melon". The ripe fruit has orange skin and lime-green, soft flesh. Cucumis metuliferus is native to Southern Africa, in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Angola.
West Indian gherkin · Cucumis · Aardvark Cucumber · Cucumis hystrix · Cantaloupe · Armenian cucumber · Melon · Gooseberry gourd · Cucumis · Cucumber · Melon
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cucumis metuliferus 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
