Appendix to the Books on Plants and Peripatetic Questions

In his discussions regarding the Siciopepon original: Siciopeponis; a Greek-derived term for a cucumber-melon, making mention of it—for the name Melopepon original: Melopeponis; literally "apple-melon," likely referring to the muskmelon was not yet in use—he says: The Siciopepon, that is our Citreolus original: Citreolus; a small cucumber or citrus-colored gourd, when it is ripe, promotes urine, moves the bowels, and is light. The other kind, the Pepon original: Pepon; a large, ripe melon, cools somewhat and quenches thirst, but from none of them is any nourishment produced except that which is thin, neither wicked nor noteworthy. However, in the second book of On Diet referring to the Hippocratic corpus he says: Sicij cucumbers that are not ripe are cold and difficult to digest; but when ripe, they move the urine and the bowels, though they are flatulent. Regarding the other Pepon, he says in the third book of On Diseases: Once the rind is removed, the marrow the soft inner pulp taken with cold water helps those with fevers to extinguish thirst. There he calls its marrow Pala original: Palam, that is, a certain unformed mass. This does not occur in the Citreoli nor in the Melopepon, but only in our Cucumber when it is ripe, on account of its very watery substance.

Among the Greeks, Pala also signifies an unformed substance that falls away from copper when the glowing metal is extinguished in water. Dioscorides A famous 1st-century Greek physician and botanist calls this the Flower of Copper. Hippocrates used this very often to heal ulcers in the more humid parts of the body, such as in the throat and the private parts. Yet it is unknown to our modern physicians, even though it is abundant among coppersmiths. These are thicker scales which, falling off during the cooling of the copper, are granular like millet on the side where they broke away from the metal and in their fractures, as Dioscorides reports; they commonly call it Ramina.

But to return to the Melopepon: Pliny Pliny the Elder, Roman naturalist testifies that in his time it appeared among the cucumbers in Campania, and because of its resemblance to a Quince original: Mali Cotonei, it was called Melopepon. If, therefore, this was known among the ancient Greeks, it must be said that they did not distinguish it from the cultivated Sicios—that is, the plant called Cucumber by the Latins, which we commonly call Citreolus. This is more pleasing before maturity and while it is still small. Although it is difficult to digest, it is nevertheless useful to those who need cooling and those whose food spoils in the stomach; for it remains unspoiled for a long time, which does not happen with ripe ones. But Melopepons are not pleasing unless they are ripe; and the same is true for those commonly called Cucumbers.