Today's nature post features the Cucumber! Cucumbers are a creeping vine belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, along with other vegetables such as pumpkins. Originating from South Asia, the cucumber's cultivation began approximately 3000 years ago. Popular among the Greeks and Romans, the cucumber quickly spread throughout the world as a food source. Through specific cultivation, the cucumber was grown into three main groups: pickling, slicing, and burpless. Slicing cucumbers are grown to eat fresh. Those sold in North America are often longer and smoother with a rougher skin than those sold in other countries where they are smaller, thinner, and possess a thinner skin. While any cucumbers can be pickled, commercial picklers will grow specimens with a uniform ratio of length to diameter and are often shorter, thicker, and possess a bumpier skin. Burpless cucumbers are sweeter with a thinner skin and often are called seedless due to their minimal amount, or lack, of seeds. Other groups of cultivated cucumbers include gherkins, Lebanese, East Asian, and apple cucumbers among others. Cucumbers prefer to grow in warm, subtropical climates in sunny areas with well-drained soil. They are often grown on support systems to aid the vine in growth. When grown as a vine, it can reach anywhere from 1 to 6 feet in height while shrubs often grow up to 3 feet in diameter. The light green leaves of these plants are large, triangular shapes. During the summer and early autumn, cucumbers produce bright yellow flowers. The stems of this plant are fuzzy and will grow curling tendrils that will grasp nearby plants or support systems to secure itself. A single cucumber plant can grow between 25 and 125 cucumbers approximately 10 weeks after planting. When growing on the plant, cucumbers are called the plant's fruit even though it is a vegetable when eaten. Cucumbers are primarily water, although they do possess vast amounts of vitamin C and B along with minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. While it is primarily the fruit of the plant that is eaten, the stems, seeds, and young leaves are used in Asian cooking. A slice of cucumber placed on the tongue can kill the bacteria responsible for bad breath in under a minute while placing them on the skin aids in removing excess water in swollen areas and give a cooling sensation to the skin. They are also known to reduce the levels of blood cholesterol. The Romans, who favored the cucumber so much, used it to treat bad eyesight as well as scorpion bites. Cucumbers are often associated as being a feminine plant connected with the moon and the element water. The cucumber is also associated with chastity, healing, and fertility. It is said to promote fertility that one needs only to eat the seeds of a cucumber, but eating the fruit itself is said to hinder arousal. Headache pain can be relieved by binding a peel of cucumber to the forehead.