Ecballium

ECBALLIUM (ek-bal’i-um) elaterium. A perennial trailing vine of the Gourd Family, native to the moist forests of the middle and East Mediterranean region and popularly known as the Squirting Cucumber because, when the fruit is ripe, the seeds are violently squirted out of the pod, along with the semi-liquid jelly surrounding them. It is commonly grown as an annual, in Southern gardens, for its curious seed-throwing propensity. A powerful cathartic known as elaterium is made from the fruit juice. Propagation is by seeds.

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