(Cucumis sativus)
Cucumbers originated high in the Himalayas at least two centuries before the birth of Christ. From India they spread eastward to China and Japan, where the super-long varieties were developed for Asian royalty. North America’s first crop of cucumbers didn’t occur until colonial times c.1700, when the first settlers began experimenting with the seed they brought from home. To this day, however, India still retains many varieties of indigenous cucumbers, otherwise unknown to the rest of the world.