Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
σίκυς ἄγριος

squirting cucumber

Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich. · Cucurbitaceae
Identification: CertainNot endemic to GreeceConservation status not assessed
Risk rank
25 of 32 (21–28)
Risk score
0.28(0.28–0.28)2 · Moderate

Then and now

2050 · moderate emissions. SSP2-4.5, 2041-2060, 3 climate models; ranges show the spread.

The plant
σίκυς ἄγριος
Photograph of Ecballium elaterium
Photo: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of squirting cucumber)
2050 · moderate emissions
Natural Earth (PD) · model output · ~10 km cells
Loading map layers (0 of 1)
Layers
Range keptLost by 2050Gained by 2050Cultivation zoneNatura 2000Occurrence cellCells ≈ 10 × 10 km

Occurrences are aggregated to ~10 km cells; exact points are never published. View range data as a table

De Materia Medica · Book IV · ch. 150c. 50–70 CE
σίκυς ἄγριος
sikys agrios
σίκυς ἄγριος, ὃν φέρομβρόν τινες καλοῦσι, τῷ καρπῷ μόνον διαφέρει τοῦ ἡμέρου, ἐλάσσονα πολλῷ καὶ βαλάνοις ἐπιμήκεσιν ἐοικότα ἔχων …
Modern identification
Ecballium elaterium(L.) A.Rich. · CucurbitaceaeCertain

Source: Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 636; Fraas 1845, p. 102; Osbaldeston 2000.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 636 (Comm. IV cap. CLII, σίκυς ἄγριος): 'Est vero Momordica Elaterium, in Graecia satis vulgaris planta, cuius succus amarissimus et hodie purgante vi insignis celebratur'; describes the explosive fruit. Momordica elaterium L. = Ecballium elaterium (synonymy ours). Fraas 1845, p. 102: '1. Ecbalium Elaterium Rich., Springgurke' = ὁ ἄγριος σίκυος Theophr. 9,15, σίκυς ἄγριος Diosc. 4,152, source of Elaterium; modern ἀγριαγγουριά; very common on poor fields of the lowlands (Attica). Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 4-154 SIKUS AGRIOS: SUGGESTED ... Ecballium elaterium, Momordica elaterium [Linnaeus]. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n637/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n147/mode/1up)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann, Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei De materia medica, vol. II (Berlin 1906), p. 292; read off the archive.org page image (item b21459162_0002) and cross-checked against two OCR layers; ϑ printed as θ. See the page scan.

No European Medicines Agency herbal monograph for this species.

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)+63% (+63 to +74%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)+86% (+71 to +91%)

Median and spread across 3 climate models. Whisker axis −80% to +20%, dashed tick at 0; a chevron means the value runs beyond the axis.

Suitable cultivation area, 2050 moderate5,387 km² (4,471–6,105 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.28 (0.28–0.28)Moderate risk class 2
00.51.0
  • Range loss 0.00 of max 0.40 · (0.00–0.00)
  • Endemism 0.00 of max 0.20 · not endemic
  • Conservation status 0.10 of max 0.20 · not assessed
  • Harvest pressure 0.18 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 0% of 1,000 random weightings.

How the score is built, and how sensitive it is to weights

Model quality

Standard grade
AUC (spatial block CV)
0.75 ± 0.01
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.69 ours is higher
Boyce index
0.97 ± 0.04
TSS
0.39 ± 0.02
Occurrence records
2,449 after cleaning (of 5,020)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.49. The baseline scores each held-out point by its distance to the nearest training record, on the same folds. "Standard" grade means ≥ 30 records, AUC ≥ 0.75 and above the baseline; fewer than 10 records is a data gap; anything else is low grade.

Suggested action

Cultivation opportunity

Climate-resilient candidate crop; cultivation can take pressure off wild collection.

Rule: Gains or keeps habitat · has a 2050 cultivation zone.

Where it could be grown

Identification through time

Who has matched σίκυς ἄγριος to which modern plant, from the Renaissance to today.

All names through time
Cited for the identification we modelProposed an alternativeAlternative preferred by our sourceAlternative rejected by our sourceCommonly proposed, not verified by us
Renaissance commentators
Linnaean botany & Flora Graeca
Edition
Modern
150016001700180019002000

Select a mark to read who proposed which plant, and the source we read it in.

Dates are each authority's main herbal or commentary (approximate, "c."), used to order the timeline. Claims are parsed from our curated identification table; every quote links back to a page scan or edition on the plant page.

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now900—21.2%
2050 moderate1,155 (1,146–1,198)+63% (+63 to +74%)21% (21–21%)
2050 high1,221 (1,195–1,257)+86% (+71 to +91%)21% (21–22%)