Another weed my dad seemed to intensely dislike was the wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata). They are blooming now and I have been noticing a lot of them along the road so it seemed like a perfect time to write about them.
The Bible says God prepared a plant – some versions say a "gourd" – to grow up quickly to shade Jonah (Jonah 4:6). The wild cucumber can grow up to 25 or 30 feet in a season and gourds, like wild cucumbers, are members of the cucumber [cucurbitaceae] family. I could see Jonah's plant being a relative of the wild cucumber. |
The name, Echinocystis, is derived from the Greek words echinos meaning "prickly" or “spiny” and cystis which means "bladder" or any sac or capsule-like object. In Greek the name is a description of the fruit of this vine.
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Wild cucumbers prefer moist soil and are often found in low ground near swamps or roadside ditches. It was a wet spring so that may be why they are so prolific this year.
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Wild cucumbers' pale green, fragrant flowers begin to bloom in mid to late summer. Each plant has both male and female flowers so they do not need another plant to be pollinated. The fruit is a small oval pod covered with prickles. While it is related to the cultivated cucumber and its first leaves look just like a cucumber growing, it is not edible. The pods dry nicely for flower arrangements, however.
The interior of the fruit has interwoven fibers (like a very small loofa gourd, another member of the cucumber family). Each fruit contains four large, flat seeds. As the fruit ripens the fibers tighten until it explodes and ejects the seeds as far as 20 feet. To save the seed it would be necessary to put a bag over the pod before the seeds are expelled. The seeds can used as beads for jewelry.
There are other plants in the cucumber family that are also called a wild cucumber and some are said to be edible. These do not grow in Minnesota. The wild cucumber grown here is not edible.
The interior of the fruit has interwoven fibers (like a very small loofa gourd, another member of the cucumber family). Each fruit contains four large, flat seeds. As the fruit ripens the fibers tighten until it explodes and ejects the seeds as far as 20 feet. To save the seed it would be necessary to put a bag over the pod before the seeds are expelled. The seeds can used as beads for jewelry.
There are other plants in the cucumber family that are also called a wild cucumber and some are said to be edible. These do not grow in Minnesota. The wild cucumber grown here is not edible.
Some people intentionally plant wild cucumber as an ornamental vine but most people, like my dad, consider them to be an undesirable weed. I think the leaves are very pretty – star shaped, something like a maple leaf – and the vine is interesting, but even if planted intentionally it can become a problem. They are easily removed as young plants but because they grow so fast and reseed themselves so well they have a tendency to overrun the landscape.
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While they do not kill the plants they are attached to, they can shade the foliage to such a degree that the plants are unable to carry out photosynthesis. This is especially hard on evergreen trees. Plant a wild cucumber vine at your own risk! The panoramic series above is of a cute little alcove filled with cucumber vines. There really is a tree and house under there!
