Nepali Cucumber

This extremely rare variety of cucumber (Bhadaure kankro) is known in scientific journals as Cucumis sativus L.Var. Sikkimensis Hook, and is native to the Himalayan mountain areas of Nepal and Sikkim. Sir Joseph Hooker, a British botanist along with explorers in the 19th century, first discovered it in the eastern Himalayas in 1848. Here is part of what he wrote about it in his journals: “So abundant were the fruits, that for days together I saw gnawed fruits lying by the natives’ paths by the thousands, and every man, woman and child seemed engaged throughout the day in devouring them.”