Echinocystis: photos and types, growing and caring for the plant

Mad cucumber... When you first hear this phrase, you might think: “Really? Can plants go crazy too? At least once in our lives we come into contact with unusual plants, especially in tropical countries. Some of them look like “fairytale” species. Our cucumber is just one of these - we will talk about the mad cucumber plant. Why is it called that, and what other plants are attributed to this species, let's figure it out.

Fruits of the common mad cucumber

Description

Crazy cucumber, or Echinocystis, is an annual plant from the Cucurbitaceae family. The liana can reach a length of 1.5 to 6 meters, so when planting you should take care of a trellis for the plant. Although such a cucumber is completely devoid of antennae, it quickly entwines everything that comes in its way.

The leaves are green in color and triangular in shape, very reminiscent of the foliage of an ordinary cucumber. The underside of the leaves is rough to the touch. The flowers are small, white-yellow. They are collected in small inflorescences and also have a very pleasant smell.

The fruits have the appearance of small cucumbers, which are strewn with small bristles. As they mature, they turn into fairly hard spines. The plant actively absorbs moisture. At this time, a jelly-like substance is formed inside the fruit, which contains seeds.

The mad cucumber got its name because by the time it ripens, this liquid begins to ferment and creates high pressure inside the fruit. As soon as you touch it, the outer shell of the cucumber breaks, after which the seeds spew out like a fountain. This phenomenon occurs in September.

Use in folk medicine

from dried stems, fruits and rhizomes .

• preparations made from it have antibacterial, laxative and diuretic effects;
• a drug based on prickly carp is used as anthelmintic and antitumor agents;
• infusions of wild cucumber are prescribed by folk healers to treat malaria, inflammatory liver diseases, and reduce swelling;
• The powder is used for diseases of fungal origin.

Before using medications, you should consult your doctor.

Despite its many medicinal uses, the plant is highly poisonous . The skin that comes into contact with the vine sap becomes covered with burns and wounds.

Eating fresh fruits or the above-ground green part will cause severe poisoning , which is manifested by vomiting, headaches, bloody diarrhea, and drowsiness.

Healing decoctions, tinctures, and powders are prepared from dried stems, fruits and rhizomes.

Plant range

Crazy cucumber is grown not only by gardeners, but also grows in the natural environment. Eastern Europe and Asia Minor are considered its homeland. The culture is found in the Caucasus and Crimea. It spreads by self-sowing, shooting out seeds after they ripen.

The plant can adapt to any soil - clayey, rocky, marshy. It responds very gratefully to the application of fertilizers - after this, the mad cucumber retains its decorative effect throughout the season.

How to properly collect mad cucumber seeds

The period for collecting seed pods is in September. After they open, the seeds must be collected, washed and placed to dry for 3-4 days. At the end of this time, they are collected in paper bags in which the seed will be stored.

Seed collection is carried out not only for the purpose of their subsequent sowing, but also in order to prevent their uncontrolled spread. Since the fruits of this plant can shoot up to 6 m, this crop can conquer more and more new areas every year.

In the future, it will be difficult to get rid of these natural plantings. For this reason, it is recommended to regularly weed the area around beds with crazy cucumbers to prevent them from spreading as a weed.

Nuances of cultivation

The common mad cucumber is great for creating a wicker fence or shading a pergola. If you plan to plant the plant near a fence or other high supports, then it will not require additional support. If planting in other places, it is important to create all the conditions for weaving - install trellises or arches.

Before sowing the seeds, you should perform the following manipulations:

• each seed must be rubbed with sandpaper to make it smoother, this will ensure better germination;
• after this they must be wrapped in damp gauze or soft cloth and left for a day;
• sprouted seeds should be placed in sawdust or other loose substrate;
• experienced gardeners recommend planting seeds in peat tablets to provide them with all the nutrients;
• The seed container should be left in a warm place, but the scorching sun should be avoided.

After the true leaves appear, the plant can be planted in open ground. In this case, a distance of 35 cm should be maintained between seeds.

Methods for planting cucumbers

There are two ways to plant a crazy cucumber - seedlings or directly into open ground.

Seedling

This is the most labor-intensive method of planting cucumbers, but it guarantees a high percentage of germination, so it is often used by gardeners. In addition, it is quite difficult to find young plants for sale, so it is easier to sow and grow seedlings yourself.

When growing this way, you need to know how to create optimal conditions.

Drop off time

It is necessary to prepare seeds for planting immediately after the fruits have opened. Otherwise, they will dry out in the open air and will not germinate. As a rule, the seed pods open at the same time.

To speed up the process, you can put them in a bag and shake them. This way they will open faster.

It is best to plant in early May. Also, do not be afraid to sow before winter, because the seeds can withstand frost well.

Seed preparation

A month before planting, the material is placed in the refrigerator where vegetables and fruits are usually stored. After 30 days, they take it out and slightly disturb the top layer so that the germ can break through it without any problems. After all, the surface of the seeds is quite dense. The main thing is not to damage the cotyledons.

After this, the planting material is placed in a weak manganese solution. It is important to ensure that the water temperature is maintained at the same level, but not less than 28 degrees above Celsius. Therefore, a container with liquid is usually placed on batteries.

The seeds are kept in a manganese solution for 24 hours. They are then placed in sawdust, previously moistened with water, and left until white roots begin to sprout. If they appear, it means the seeds are ready for sowing.

Landing

Before planting, prepare the soil. It is best to purchase soil in a store in a ready-made form and mix it with sand, rotted leaves, peat and humus. Take all components in equal quantities.

Next, the seeds are planted in a box or special peat cups. Sowing depth is 2 cm. After planting, all that remains is to care for the seedlings, maintain the temperature at 21-24 degrees above Celsius, water once every 14 days, and when the first leaves appear, apply universal fertilizer.

Sowing before winter

It is not necessary to plant mad cucumber seeds in the spring; you can also do this in the fall before winter. It is important that the air temperature has not yet dropped below +5 degrees. The planting algorithm with this method is slightly different than when growing seedlings:

1. Only dry seeds should be used.
2. Just as when growing seedlings, it is necessary to treat the seeds with sandpaper.
3. The seed is sown in pre-made grooves in the soil. They should be about 20 cm deep so as not to freeze in winter.
4. After this, the planted seeds must be covered with fertile soil to the full depth of the furrows.
5. It is important to keep the soil well moistened.
6. Then some gardeners recommend mulching the planting area with a thick layer of straw or sawdust.

The seeds will overwinter and the first shoots will appear in the spring.

Propagation by seeds and transplantation

It reproduces by seed and is very viable. The strongest plants are those that have undergone natural stratification (overwintered in the ground). Therefore, ideally, they need to be sown before winter. You can also sow in spring.

Echinocystis seeds.

But seeds sown in May will sprout and begin their main growth only by mid-to-late June! You can also sow seedlings in late March-early April, then by May they will already be absolutely adapted to life in order to grow and bloom.

These plants cannot tolerate transplantation. They have a taproot. When transplanted, it breaks off very easily and is not restored.

Care

The description of the crazy cucumber says that it can grow on almost any type of soil. But many gardeners agree that in order to grow a beautiful plant, you need to put in a lot of effort. The difficulty also lies in the fact that the fruits must be removed before they ripen, in this way self-seeding throughout the area can be avoided. If it is necessary to obtain mature seeds, it is recommended to pack the wild mad cucumber in a plastic bag so that they do not scatter on the ground.

To obtain a quality plant, you must follow these rules:

1. Watering. Like all cucurbits, wild cucumber loves moisture. To do this, it is necessary to water abundantly once a week. If the weather is humid, you can refuse additional watering, since the plant only needs natural moisture.
2. Garter. If a plant weaves around a fence or arch, you don’t have to worry about tying it up, since it will find its own support points. When using smooth trellises, it is recommended to tie the cucumber to form the vine of the desired shape and height.
3. Feeding. Although the crazy cucumber can grow without additional fertilizer, it is still important to achieve the most decorative appearance. Fertilizers are applied both organic and mineral. The plant should receive the first portion when planting seedlings in a permanent place of growth. Adult cucumbers should receive small doses of fertilizer twice a month.

This species does not require pruning, since the vine can be directed in any direction.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Place

Finding a landing site is not difficult. Crazy cucumber will grow in both sunny and shady places. If the soil has already warmed up enough, it is better to choose planting in the shade. The main thing is to protect the young plant from draft winds.

Important! The best place is near walls, fences and other vertical structures. This way the vine will grow upward and you won’t have to build the support yourself.

Soil preparation

Loose soil with plenty of nutrients is preferred for crazy cucumber. Before planting, the soil is prepared as follows: sprinkled with urea granules and dug up. An additive with this chemical compound normalizes acidity levels and has a beneficial effect on growth. You can also add coarse sand when digging.

Planting scheme

You can plant seedlings in the ground in a peat pot in holes with a distance of up to 1 m. The fertilizer from mullein in rotted form is poured in first. Then the seedlings are immersed, and the earth is placed in the empty space. Pat the top with your hand to compact the soil and lightly pour warm water over it.

Important! The crazy cucumber is unpretentious to the soil, so it quickly runs wild and becomes a weed. This way it can interfere with the growth of other crops located nearby.

Interesting properties

In the descriptions of the crazy cucumber plant you can find a lot of information about its beneficial properties. Today, the main purpose of Echinocystis is to decorate hedges, fences and gazebos. However, other properties of the mad cucumber are also known:

• it contains a large amount of useful substances - vitamins C, B, amino acids, fatty acids and antioxidants;
• has a diuretic effect;
• relieves inflammation and redness of the skin.

The plant is used in folk medicine to treat diseases such as trophic ulcers, dropsy, jaundice, sinusitis, rheumatism, neuralgia, various edema, hemorrhoids.

All parts of the plant - stems, flowers and fruits - are used to prepare decoctions, tinctures and ointments. Since it is poisonous, it is recommended to use only young fruits that have not reached the age of 10 days and young shoots for medicinal purposes. Due to its toxicity, the plant is prohibited for use by people suffering from pancreatitis, as well as by pregnant and nursing mothers. It is necessary to resort to treatment with mad cucumber only after consulting a doctor!

Young ten-day-old fruits are used in cooking. They must be pre-soaked or salted to remove the bitter taste. The flowers have a sweet scent that attracts bees. It is believed that the mad cucumber is an excellent honey plant, so beekeepers love to grow it on their plots.

Chemical composition

Despite the fact that the shooting cucumber has been familiar since the time of Avicenna, its chemical composition has not been fully studied. It is known that the stem and roots contain carotenoids, alkaloids, steroids, vitamins C and B1, organic and fatty acids, and nitrogen-containing compounds.

Crazy cucumber seeds, leaves and fruits

Mad cucumber fruits contain:

• elasericins,
• vitamins A, C, group B,
• elatherin,
• various alkaloids.

Collecting seeds

The plant begins flowering in June, after which fruits form. Wild cucumbers ripen in September, so seeds are also collected in this month. It is important to collect the most mature seeds possible. Since the garden crop explodes and sprays liquid with seeds, you need to approach them as carefully as possible. Experienced gardeners recommend placing a bag over the fruit and then shaking it, causing an “explosion.” This way all the seeds will remain in the bag and will not fall to the ground.

It is important to remember the precautions. Since the plant is poisonous, you must wash your hands thoroughly after any contact with it. The seeds also need to be washed from the jelly-like liquid and dried for subsequent sowing.

Uses of crazy cucumber

This vegetable is not used in traditional medicine. However, in folk methods of treatment it has gained considerable popularity based on the knowledge of previous generations. Juice, oil, decoctions and tinctures are made from mad cucumber as potions, and the stems and leaves of the bush are dried.

For treatment

This type of cucumber has been used for the treatment and prevention of various diseases for centuries. Its pharmacological properties include antiseptic and laxative effects. The plant is also used to reduce swelling and treat the liver.

Skin diseases

For psoriasis and diathesis, dried plant stems are used.

Recipe for decoction for skin diseases:

1. Take 1 tbsp. spoon of dried herb and pour 1 liter of boiling water.
2. Place in a water bath for 25 minutes.
3. After the broth has cooled, strain it and add more water.
4. Wipe the decoction on the affected areas on the face and body.

Sinusitis

Cucumber juice is great for treating sinusitis and nasal congestion.

Important! To treat sinusitis, only freshly squeezed fruit juice should be used.

Juice preparation:

1. Squeeze the juice out of the fruit, use protective gloves for this, and strain.
2. Combine 2 drops of juice and 8 drops of water. Boil and cool the liquid.
3. Place 3-4 drops into each nostril.
4. Repeat this procedure no earlier than after 3 days.

Hemorrhoids

Oil from the fruit of the wild vegetable is used to treat hemorrhoids.

Oil recipe:

1. Take 1 dessert spoon of chopped unripe fruits. It is allowed to eat both fresh and dried cucumbers.
2. Mix them with 100 ml of vegetable oil.
3. Place the mixture on low heat and stir for 15 minutes.
4. After the mixture has cooled, strain it.
5. Apply the oil to hemorrhoids.

From edema and worms

Crazy cucumber has long been known for its ability to kill parasites in the human body. To treat worms, a mixture of dried fruits is used.

Recipe for fighting worms:

1. Pour 1 teaspoon of dry leaves of the plant with 200 ml of boiling water.
2. Cover the container with the liquid to prevent heat from escaping.
3. Leave the mixture for 50 minutes, then strain.
4. Take orally three times a day before meals for 30 minutes. The volume of the medicine is 5 ml.

This remedy helps not only to free the body from helminths, but also to reduce swelling in the body.

For neuralgia, sciatica and rheumatism

To overcome neuralgia and rheumatism, wild cucumber tincture is used as a rub.

Rub recipe for neuralgia, sciatica and rheumatism:

1. Measure out the required amount of vodka, 70% alcohol or moonshine.
2. Take the fruits of wild cucumber. You can use both dry and dried vegetables.
3. To maintain the proportion, the number of fruits should be 20th of the volume of alcohol taken
4. Fill them with vodka or moonshine.
5. Leave the mixture to steep for 2 weeks.
6. Strain the liquid.
7. Rub the affected areas.

In cooking

The fruits of the mad cucumber are not eaten due to the presence of toxic substances in them. However, its subspecies - momordica - can be an element of many dishes.

Momordica is picked while its fruit is still green, so that there is no bitterness when consuming the product. It tastes like persimmon.

Momordica fruits can also be salted or pickled. Subsequently, the peel is removed, and the pulp of the vegetable is used in salads. Leaves, roots and young shoots are added not only to salads, but also to vegetable soups.

Did you know? Momordica has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, removing toxins and increasing immunity.

Useful tips

Experienced gardeners give beginners some useful tips that will undoubtedly come in handy when cultivating this unusual plant:

• the plant is perfect for those people who want to create a beautiful hedge in just a few months; unlike perennial vines, wild cucumber must be planted annually, which allows you to abandon it at any opportunity;
• the vine of the plant forms a rather dense green carpet, so it can be used to hide those areas that should not be in plain sight;
• It is not recommended to eat the fruits of the plant without familiarizing yourself with all the rules for collection and preparation, since they are poisonous;
• It is strictly forbidden to give cucumber fruits to children, even as a toy, since they can easily end up in a child’s mouth, and, unfortunately, this will not be without consequences;
• When using the plant as a traditional medicine, you must consult your doctor.

A photo of the crazy cucumber plant shows all its beauty, for which many gardeners, both professionals and amateurs, plant it.

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Saturday, April 06, 2013 00:26 + to quote book In my previous message “Mad cucumber - two different plants with the same name,” Natalya_Rasvorova discovered a third type of “mad” cucumber - Echinocystis: “You put a photo of three types of mad cucumbers... and described only two species...here’s the third one for you” and gave a link to the article “Echinocystis: a beautiful, but “mad” decoration of the landscape,” which I bring to your attention. Echinocystis: a beautiful, but “crazy” decoration of the landscape. Everyone has probably been familiar with such an interesting plant as the crazy cucumber since childhood. And few people know its correct name - Echinocystis. This name is made up of two words that fully reveal the essence of the plant - “cystis” translated from Latin means a ball or bubble, and “echinos” means hedgehog. So it turns out that Echinocystis is a spiny ball. Why a cucumber, and a crazy one at that? The Echinocystis plant itself resembles cucumbers or pumpkins in its appearance when it grows, clinging to a support with its tendrils. This plant also has leaves similar to cucumber and tendrils. But unlike the cucumber, Echinocystis blooms with abundant small flowers, collected in inflorescences, which have a delicate, pleasant aroma that attracts bees. Why is the cucumber mad? Yes, because this plant takes care of its children - the seeds, like an abnormal mother: they must survive and live, occupying the best places. Therefore, when the seeds ripen, the plant “explodes” even at the slightest touch, scattering them several meters around. Echinocystis is perceived by many gardeners as a nuisance weed. But it can serve as a real decoration if it is planted near a gazebo, for example. Its gently green large leaves will create a cozy, transparent partial shade from the sun, and delicate inflorescences will fill the air with a delicate aroma. Veil of Echinocystis. Naturally, you will have to monitor the spread of this plant, removing either unripe fruits or already sprouted young growth. but every plant that serves a person requires at least a little supervision and care. Try growing the “mad cucumber” Echinocystis in your garden, perhaps. it will bring you and your family many fun memories. https://ogorodsadovod.com/entry/785-ekhinotsistis-k...beshenoe-ukrashenie-landshafta Echinocystis, lobed thorny carp - E. lobata = E. echinata Homeland: North America; naturally distributed in the eastern regions of Canada and the USA. Photo by Olga Bondareva An annual introduced to Europe from North America and experienced its rise in the 60s. Its unpretentiousness and abundant self-seeding brought it the “glory” of almost a weed. It covers an area of ​​6 - 8 m2 with continuous greenery. Single female flowers and fragrant creamy male flowers collected in racemes are located in the same axils of smooth, deep-lobed leaves. Photo by Svetlana Biryukova Flowering time: July - August. This is a fast-growing vine with “hedgehog fruits” covered with sparse soft thorns; As they ripen, the fruits open in a peculiar way: the cap on the top of the fruit opens, and large black seeds scatter. During the fruiting period, Echinocystis is most decorative: a garland of leaves, tendrils, inflorescences and bluish-green fruits. Location: sunny, semi-shaded Care: one or two weedings. Supports. Watering, fertilizing: usually rain is enough, but during drought, watering is necessary. Pests and diseases are rare. Reproduction: by seeds, which are best sown before winter every 80 - 100 cm, two or three in a nest, and when three or four true leaves appear, one seedling is left. Use: shade-tolerant, but grows well in the sun. Good for decorating gazebos, used for decorating fences, walls, verandas Echinocystis is an annual herbaceous plant, but easily survives in the wild due to its active ability to reproduce by seeds. Echinocystis self-sows and grows even in not the most fertile soil - among other meadow weeds, on uncultivated but moist soil, in damp places. Echinocystis easily withstands competition with other plants. This vine grows quite quickly, producing spiral-twisting tendrils at the ends of its shoots. With these tendrils, the vine easily wraps around nearby supports and climbs up, closer to the light. Echinocystis can reach a length (height) of 6 meters or even more. Returning to the structure of the flower, I would like to note that the plant blooms from July to August with very small white graceful flowers, consisting of six gracefully elongated petals, the flowers are collected in loose spicate inflorescences. The flowers have a strong honey aroma and attract many insects. The plant is monoecious, but the flowers mixed in the inflorescence are dioecious - some are male and some are female. The fruits are small prickly pumpkins that are initially juicy inside and hang like decorative lanterns on the plant. At the end of summer, the fruits of the plant dry out, but do not lose their shape - they remain the same round. And when winter comes, there is no trace left of the dry, frozen vine. But dry spongy fruits, like origami crafts, hang strangely on the branches of foreign plants. Fruits of Echinocystis (“hedgehogs”). Full size photo. Nature has endowed Echinocystis with individual and very striking characteristics. Not only does the plant germinate in a competitive environment of tall perennials and woody shrubs, but its mature capsule is also capable of bursting under the pressure of accumulated water, shooting out seeds and sowing them “voluntarily-compulsorily” throughout the area. The seeding speed of Echinocystis when fired is more than 11 m per second! The radius of “artillery fire” of these mad cucumbers reaches 8 meters. Echinocystis was at the peak of popularity back in the 70s. Then this vine could be found on the gates and gazebos of kindergartens. The plant is really unpretentious, does not need care, loves open sunny places, produces few leaves in the shade, will not bloom, and looks like an orphan naked. True, it prefers good moisture (even swampy conditions, but with drainage for the roots), and the soil can be either rocky or peaty. Echinocystis is sown directly in open ground near vertical supports, always before winter. Echinocystis is ideal near fences. This vine provides a lot of shade, and although it will not protect from wind and rain, it will become a magnificent green curtain, creating a background, a green vertical wall. Echinocystis cannot be called an aggressive plant, such as, for example, hops. It is easy to combat - the grassy vine freezes completely in the winter. But we will have to fight with self-seeding. Therefore, it is better to sow it away from the beds, on the front side of solid fences - preferably on the street side. This vine is especially attractive to children, but as soon as a child reaches for the decorative hedgehog fruit, prickly splinters will certainly remain in his hand. That’s his temper—mad. In its historical homeland, Echinocystis is used in folk medicine as a medicine: the bitterness of its roots contains analgesics, so Echinocystis tea is taken for headaches. It is known that this plant was also used as a love potion. ECHINOCYSTIS ECHINATA was brought from North America to Europe, which subsequently spread in the south and central zone of the European part of Russia, as well as in the Ussuri region of the Far East. It can be found along the banks of rivers and lakes, in bushes, as a weed in gardens. Single female and clustered male flowers are located in the same leaf axils. This annual plant with dissected leaves has extremely fast growth, reaching a height of 10 meters in one season. Its thin, weak shoots are supported on supports by strong branching tendrils, twisted into a steep, strong spiral, similar to a clock spring. The plant can be pollinated not only by insects, but also by the wind. Its fragrant male flowers are always higher than the female ones. Even with a weak wind, pollen easily flies down, directly onto the upward-stretched stigmas of female flowers. In autumn, the plant develops bluish-green, oval, prickly, and extremely peculiarly dehiscent fruits. At the top of the fruit there is a cap that opens when ripe, causing the seeds to scatter to the sides. Sources used: https://www.lepestok.kharkov.ua/garden/s20120803.htm https://ours-nature.ru/article/230__658.html

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Echinocystis “mad cucumber” Echinocystis echinata E. lobata

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How to care for a plant?

Echinocystis lobes is a thorny plant that does not require care. The location of cultivation does not matter. The culture develops quite well under bright ultraviolet rays or in shaded locations. Since the bushes develop only one year, they do not need shelter for the winter season. In the autumn, after the leaves dry out, you will need to cut off the growth and destroy it. The earth must be dug up.

But there are still several rules that must be followed. They concern:

• Glaze. The plant prefers regular and abundant moisture. If there is not enough water, the vine will develop slowly. To ensure full air penetration, the soil should be loosened in a systematic manner.
• Feeding. During the season you will need to fertilize the vine several times. This will allow you to get more presentable bushes. Organic substances are best suited for this. For example, it is important to use compost, chicken manure or rotted manure.
• Diseases. The vine is resistant to diseases and pests, so you should not be afraid of serious problems with growing the crop. You can even plant them with those floristic representatives that are most often susceptible to insect attack.

An important rule that you need to pay attention to is self-seeding control. Crazy cucumbers, if excess seedlings are not removed, can grow over large areas, drowning out everything around them.

Use in the countryside

Due to the vine’s ability to quickly grow stems and weave them into the space around itself, it is often used for landscaping summer cottages, as well as for producing honey .

In the last century, public places were often decorated with creeping plants. Nowadays, the plant is used to create a hedge, decorate balconies and terraces, as well as the walls of high rooms.

The liana is planted near a special trellis, the purpose of which is to hide boxes, utility rooms, and equipment from guests. It looks especially beautiful during the period of flowering and ripening of fruits, which change color.

The flowers of the vine emit a pleasant aroma that attracts bees, so the plant can often be found near beehives.

About the use of wild cucumber in a summer cottage: