The cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a long, creeping vine of the gourd family grown for its cylindrical, dark-green fruit — cool, watery and mildly green, crunching with a fresh, almost melon-like snap. Eaten raw in salads, sliced into cold drinks and brined by the billions into pickles, it is one of the most widely cultivated vegetables on Earth, prized far more for crisp texture and refreshment than for any strong flavour.