Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Vines ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Texas Globeberry, Balsam Gourd, balsamapple, Snake-Apple, Rio Grande Globeberry, Balsam Apple, Hierba de Vibora (Viper's Herb) (Ibervillea lindheimerii), Cucurbitaceae Family, Texas native, uncommon, perennial, deciduous, blooms April through July

In Texas it is uncommon and usually found in South Central Texas (most frequently in the Edwards Plateau region) and northward to southern Oklahoma and westward into New Mexico. It thrives on rocky hills and draws, fencerows, dry woods or thickets, brushland and occasionally in open, rocky soil. Not too picky about what type of soil inwhich it will grow, it can be found growing in sandy, sandy loam, medium loam, clay loam, clay and saline soils.

From April through July, balsam gourd produces 5 to 8 staminate blooms per raceme. The yellow, 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter, short -tubed, 5-lobed blooms are salverform (have corollas with the outer edges spreading out flat) to tubular. The 1 to 2 inches in diameter, smooth, unedible fruit start appearing in August through October; look like small round, striped watermelons when young and turn an orangish-red to bright red when mature. The ripe fruit have soft fleshy skin. It has a slightly sweet smell, the 6 mm long seeds are covered in a fleshy gel. The seeds are eaten by scaled quail, and the leaves are occasionally eaten by white tailed deer.

This vine puts on quite a show when the fruit turn red. They are highly conspicuous and look like red Christmas ornaments. It would make a great vine in a shady area of a rock garden, xeriscape or perennial bed growing on a support of some kind, up a tree or along a fence.

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/912/index.html

The immature and mature fruit ...