Squirting Cucumber - Ecballium elaterium - Devil's cucumber - Þeytigúrka - Skrautgúrka - Skotgúrka - Momordique - Squeeze cucumber - Pepinillo del diablo - Spritzgurke - Sprutgurka - テッポウウリ - Miracle fruit - Agúrka - Cucurbitaceae - Graskersætt - Graskerjaætt. Skrautagúrka sem er skemmtileg garðplanta. Gul blóm. Seeds Pods explodes when touched. Poisonous fruit. It gets its name Squirting cucumber because when the fruit of the plant is ripe it forcefully ejects its seeds, followed by a slimy trail of mucilage. This is how David Attenborough describes it in his film: "The Private Life of Plants"
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Squeeze cucumber - Skotgúrka er undarleg planta af agúrkuætt sem er með örvalöguð loðin laufblöð og ber göddótt græn aldin á stærð við hænuegg sem spítast af plöntunni þegar þau eru snert fullþroskuð og skjóta út úr sér öllum fræunum í blautri gusu eins og sjá má hér. Þegar aldinin eru að verða fullþroska og eru snert þá skjótast þau af plöntunni, spýtandi frá sér vatnsgusum sem eru fullar af flötum dökkum fræum. Það má víst ekki borða þessi aldin hrá eins og agúrkur því þau eru eitruð og hafa að geyma Cucurbitacine - en annars eru þessar plöntur ræktaðar til skemmtunar og henta afar vel í garða ætluðum börnum :)
Ecballium elaterium, also called the squirting cucumber or exploding cucumber, is a plant in the cucumber family. It gets its unusual name from the fact that, when ripe, it squirts a stream of mucilaginous liquid containing its seeds, which can be seen with the naked eye. It is thus considered to have rapid plant movement. This plant, and especially its fruit, is poisonous, containing cucurbitacins. In the ancient world it was considered to be an abortifacient : [ Ссылка ]
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: [ Ссылка ]
Hvernig á að koma Skotgúrku til af fræum er mjög auðvelt:
Sowing advice: For best results, sow seeds in good light at any time onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. We recommend germinating at 15 to 20 degrees C. Seeds should ideally germinate in between 3 and 6 weeks although they make take considerably longer. Pot on seedlings before planting out in a well-drained spot. [ Ссылка ]
Filmed with Panasonic Lumix DMC- TZ40 camera.
