squirting cucumber

American  

noun

1. a Mediterranean plant, Ecballium elaterium, of the gourd family, whose ripened fruit forcibly ejects the seeds and juice.

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squirting cucumber British  

noun

1. a hairy cucurbitaceous plant, Ecballium elaterium , of the Mediterranean region, having a fruit that discharges its seeds explosively when ripe

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Etymology

Origin of squirting cucumber

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt?

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024

This revealed that the seed projection method of the squirting cucumber has been fine-tuned to ensure near-optimal dispersal and the success of the plant over generations.

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024

Elaterium, a drug obtained from the mucus of the fruit of the squirting cucumber; is a most powerful purgative, and was known to the ancients.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Moreover, the juice of the squirting cucumber is bitter and nauseous, and if it gets into the eyes or nostrils of man or beast, it impresses itself on the memory by stinging like red pepper.

From Science in Arcady by Allen, Grant

ELATERIUM, a drug consisting of a sediment deposited by the juice of the fruit of Ecballium Elaterium, the squirting cucumber, a native of the Mediterranean region.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various