What is an African cucumber?

Despite its name, the African cucumber, also known as the horned melon, is the fruit of an annual vine common to Africa. The fruit is green when raw and yellow when ripe. The outside of the cucumber is covered in thorns, and the center is filled with seeds.

The African cucumber originated from a semi-arid part of Africa near the Kalahari Desert. Besides being edible, the fruit is also commonly used for decoration purposes because of the golden patches splotching the cucumbers. The fruit is highly nutritious, containing a high amount of vitamin C, as well as fair amounts of potassium, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamin A, calcium, vitamin B-6 and magnesium.