PlantFiles: Kiwano, African Horned Melon
Cucumis metuliferus 'African Horned'

I tried this plant as a fluke as it was said to be hard to germinate. We germinated two seeds and in no time the plant vined all over a eight foot trellis and we have an abundance of this yellow odd shaped fruit. The taste is different but i like it.

I can't grow this--it is too warm-growing for my climate (unless I had a greenhouse, which I don't).

But I do know how to eat them, which seems to have eluded many people. Contrary to popular opinion, they are actually quite good if you know how to prepare them.

You juice them and add sugar. Drink the juice. It's that easy.

It's odd that they taste somewhat bitter and cucumber-like naturally, but are absolutely delicious sweetened, but such is the case.

A garden Annual just like cucumbers.

Good grower. Does not seem to need as much water as cucumbers. Doesn't seem to be effected by cucumber diseases. Will not cross pollinate with cucumbers.

VERY spiny, and the spines break off in your skin and are hard to remove. Gloves are a necessity.

Needs a long growing season if you want the fruit to ripen before frost kills the plant.

Imported from New Zealand for specialty markets for over 25 years. Thorny, oval fruits are filled with greenish-gold gel and lots of seeds. The flavor is reminiscent of pomegranate and citrus. The primary market niche is for garnishes and decorative fruits. 120 days.

Large orange spiky fruit of subtle banana-lime flavour, long keeper. Said to have come to Australia with Boer War soldiers, also known as JELLY MELON.

This is a fast growing african vine, closely related to cucumbers. It grows a lot, and is said to require lots of water to do so. It has lots of small spines all over the stem, and even on the flowers, so protection is required to handle this one.

It has round, heart shaped leaves. Even the petiole has tiny spines. There are male and female flowers, both are small, pale yellow, and are hidden by the foliage. The fruits are weird. When ripen, they are orange coloured, of the size of a regular passion fruit, but covered with broad and short spines. When cut in a half, it reveals a thick peel, and lots of flat seeds covered in a juicy green coat. These seeds can be eaten, or the juice can be extracted and drank.

The look of that fruit is great, but I just tasted it, and it, in fact, just tastes like cucumber. Not a really remarkable flavour. But taking by the price, I suppose that there are people who are willing to spend all that money on those things, so it must be good, somehow...