The annual warm-season cucumber plants are a member of the Cucurbita family, which includes melons, squashes, pumpkins and gourds. The plant has a rough, tender vine with trailing stems and hairy leaves. As a plant grows, both male and female flowers appear on the plant's vines. The female flowers give rise to tiny cucumbers at their base. Pollen must be carried by bees from male flowers, on the same plant or on different plants, to the female flower in order for the fruit to develop.