October 30, 2009
Wild Cucumber (Balsam-apple), Echinocystis lobata
This wild cucumber grows near Little Fresh Pond. Wild cucumber is a native vine that can be found growing in moist thickets. It also grows along the banks of ponds and streams. Wild cucumber is often mistaken for bur cucumber, a related vine. Bur and wild cucumbers have stems with corkscrewlike tendrils which are used for anchoring the plants. Wild cucumber's bears a single fruit. The fruit is a spiny green, ovoid, capsule which house 4 separate seed compartments. By comparison, bur cucumber's fruit is a small, spiny, ovate capsule which contains a single seed. The capsules are arranged in clusters.
Photo and Description by Carol Collura