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I purchased and planted this plant about 2 months ago from Walmart, where it was labeled as some kind of cucumber (can't remember the exact variety). It has large, broad leaves like a cucumber plant, but there are no signs of any tendrils or fruit developing and so far it has grown like a bush rather than a vine.

exterior

It also has very large 2-3" diameter flowers, much bigger than the pickling cucumber varieties I've grown in the past (they are all closed in this picture).

interior

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  • There are bush cucumber varieties out there, though the one I have still seems to want to creep somewhere but it doesn't have tendrils. The flower size is interesting, are they all male flowers?
    – Catsunami
    Commented Jul 17, 2019 at 15:50
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    This is why you should buy your plants at a nursery or garden center, not at a box store. Nurseries/garden center staff actually know what they're doing and what they're selling.
    – Jurp
    Commented Jul 17, 2019 at 16:20
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    @Jurp, that isn't constructive nor is it useful. I have gone to nurseries, bought plants, asked the staff about the plant and the staff was still wrong (about the plant's identity). Imagine the OP is asking about a plant they got from their grandma.
    – Catsunami
    Commented Jul 17, 2019 at 17:00
  • Welcome Evidlo!! This is a perfect example of how to ask a question on our site! We really appreciate the details and pictures! I can't help because I don't grow vegetables, but we have plenty of people who do, and I hope you get what you need! Commented Jul 17, 2019 at 19:20
  • @catsunami. Love your handle, BTW. The OP bought the "cucumber" from WalMart, not from their grandma. As someone who has worked in the trade and seen the havoc wrought by box stores full of cheap, sub-standard plants and extremely ignorant employees, I stand by my comment. Buy local or grow your own. Since plants at nurseries/garden centers are always well-marked (at least in my area of the US), I wonder just where you've been shopping.
    – Jurp
    Commented Jul 17, 2019 at 23:03

2 Answers 2

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You are correct. It is not a cucumber. It's a squash. See how huge the flowers and leaves are? Cucumbers don't have flowers like that (they're small). Cucumber leaves look different, too (they're smaller with different texture).

Since it has a bush habit, I'm guessing it's a summer squash, but there are a few winter squashes with bush habits (e.g. Trivoli F1).

The leaves, however, are an unusual shape for a squash, but it's still a squash. I'm very curious what kind, and what species, though. It might be an interesting species. The leaves look similar to those of Chayote, but I think that vines.

This link shows a picture of a summer squash (unidentified variety) with leaves similar to yours. I figured yours was probably a bonnieplants.com plant, since you got it from Walmart. So, I searched for squash there and found this picture. I guess maybe that leaf shape isn't so rare (but I haven't seen it often myself). Your plant is probably C. pepo (maybe a Yellow Straightneck squash or something). It's normal to see lots of male flowers before you see any female ones. Just wait. (That's normal for cucumbers, too, though, except for some varieties.)

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    Good eye. The bush finally bore fruit and it is indeed some variety of crookneck squash i.imgur.com/fu2dwRT.jpg
    – Evidlo
    Commented Jul 21, 2019 at 14:00
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Well, all could be well, there are bush cucumbers with a non-vining habit, and it is fairly common for members of the squash and cucumber families to begin flowering with nothing but male flowers until the plant reaches a certain stage of maturity at which point the female fruit bearing flowers begin to appear. I'd say give it a week and you should see small fruits appearing.

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