Painted Serpent Cucumber

Long, ribbed, striped cucumber-like fruits are tender, have an excellent mild flavor, and are free from bitterness that can beset regular cukes (these are technically melons). Untrellised, the fruits will curve into an S shape (hence the name). Fruits best harvested when 7-16" long. With roots in Egypt and the Middle East, varieties of this delicious melon were domesticated and selected in Armenia as far back as the 15th century. The seeds traveled with Armenian immigrants to the United States in the late 1800s, and became a treasured symbol of home.