Cucumbers are gourd fruits native to southern India.
Other edible members of this family include squash, melons and pumpkins. The wild ancestor of the edible cucumber has never been identified. The best guess is C. hardwickii , a native of the Himalayas, small and bitter, with many small spines. Cucumbers have been cultivated for 4,000 years. The earliest writings of the Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans contain numerous references to this plant.