Wild Cucumber

Description:

The plant is an annual vine, flowering in summer and fall and setting fruit that resemble small, very prickly cucumbers. They are not related to garden cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, although today we did find a cucumber beetle in one of the fruits. Wild cucumber vines reach from 2-10′ (60-300 cm). The leaves are large and lobed, resembling maple leaves in shape. The stem is square, and like garden cucumbers, it has curling tendrils that allow it to grasp and climb. It readily overgrows trees and shrubs. The flowers are small, white and very fragrant. Wild cucumbers have both male and female flowers. The male flowers emerge in round clusters about 4-8″ (10-20 cm) across with individual flowers 1/2″ (1 cm) wide. They have six thin petals. A single female flower is found at the base of a male flower stalk. The fruit of the wild cucumber is a single, large, spiny pod-like container, roughly 2″ (5 cm) long. According to Wildflowers of Wisconsin, it smells and tastes like a garden cucumber, but will cause stomach upset and diarrhea. DON’T EAT THIS PLANT! As it ripens, it dries to a paper-like husk and the blossom end opens and dumps four seeds out of individual chambers.

Habitat:

Wild cucumber is native to North America, and can be found throughout much of the US and Canada, extra for certain areas in the southeast, southwest and extreme north. It prefers wet areas with some shade, including deciduous woods.

Notes:

A wild cucumber (Echinocytis lobata) seed pod that has dried out and dropped its seed. At first glance, this spiky pod looks like it could belong to an invasive species, but it is in fact native to eastern North America, with invasive plant-like tendencies to grow quickly and block out other plants. Amazing what you can see when dense foliage isn’t in the way!