This common plant is indigenous to the Mediterranean region and is a member of the cucumber family. It grows easily on disturbed ground and can flower all year round. Two main curiosities about the Squirting (or Exploding) Cucumber…

• The fruit capsule builds up such intense pressure inside that even brushing against it lightly when it is ripe will cause the fruit to ‘explode’. This is a curious mechanism for seed dispersal as they are catapulted metres away from the plant, thus increasing its coverage.
• There is a ladybird species that completes its whole lifecycle on this plant: the Gourd / Melon Ladybird Chnootriba elaterii 

The Squirting Cucumber has been in medicinal use  for 2 millenia but it is to be treated with great caution and only by experts. The juice in the fruit is irritant to the skin and eyes and ingestion can be highly dangerous. 

Guido Lanfranco, in his herbalist book “Ħxejjex Mediċinali u Oħrajn fil-Gżejjer Maltin”, mentions various uses of this plant and in particular how the leaves and fruits were crushed in a bowl and put under the nose of jaundice sufferers. He also recounts that locals were paid to collect the fruits for juice extraction which was then exported to England and Germany. In our days its seed oil is being researched extensively for the fight against cancer. 

Photos by Annalise Falzon