Squirting Cucumber
Ecballium elaterium
Family: Cucurbitaceae
What it is like
Ecballium elaterium is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Height (m): 0.3
Where it is found
Hot dry places on waste ground and roadsides, usually close to the coast.
Europe - Mediterranean. Naturalized in Britain at a few locations along the south coast.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 2
The squirting cucumber has been used as a medicinal plant for over 2,000 years, though it has a very violent effect upon the body and has little use in modern herbalism. The juice of the fruit is antirheumatic, cardiac and purgative. The plant is a very powerful purgative that causes evacuation of water from the bowels. It is used internally in the treatment of oedema associated with kidney complaints, heart problems, rheumatism, paralysis and shingles. Externally, it has been used to treat sinusitis and painful joints. It should be used with great caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. Excessive doses have caused gastro-enteritis and even death. It should not be used by pregnant women since it can cause an abortion. The fully grown but unripe fruits are harvested during the summer, they are left in containers until the contents are expelled and the juice is then dried for later use. The root contains an analgesic principle.
Abortifacient: Causes an abortion.
Analgesic: Relieves pain.
Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.
Cardiac: Used in the treatment of heart problems.
Kidney: Used in the treatment of kidney diseases
Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Prefers a moist well-drained soil in a sunny position. Grows best in a rich soil. Another report says that it succeeds in poor soils. The foliage is fairly frost-tender, though the roots are much hardier and plants can survive quite cold winters in Britain. They are more likely to be killed by excessive winter wet. The squirting cucumber is sometimes cultivated for its use as a medicinal plant. The ripening fruit becomes pumped full of liquid, leading to an increase in pressure. As the seed becomes ripe, this pressure forces the fruit to break away explosively from the plant, ejecting its seed to a considerable distance in the opposite direction. The plant occasionally self-sows in our Cornwall trial ground and can become a weed in warmer climates than Britain. It is subject to statutory control as a weed in Australia.
Propagating it: Seed - sow early spring in rich compost in a greenhouse. Place 2 - 3 seeds per pot and thin to the strongest plant. The seed usually germinates in 10 - 21 days at 25°c. Grow the plants on fast and plant them out after the last expected frosts.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 8-11
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Poisonous in large quantities (this probably refers to the fruit). The juice of the fruit is irritative to some skins.