A friend of mine sent me this picture, asking us to ID it for her. Are the fruits edible? The leaves resemble a squash or cucumber. She found it on a trail between South Prairie and Orting, WA. Thanks.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE ROUNDUP at my house, AUG 27. See the new thread.
Datura. That's my guess
I think it's wild cucumber - echinosystis lobata (and no, I didn't remember that - had to look it up).
http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=1
Very interesting katie. It doesn't say if it's edible but I'm guessing it's not. It also looks quite rambunctious.
The common name is pointy green seed packet plant. LOL
That is too funny, Steve. I have been missing your sense of humor.
It really isn't edible. However the roots are used medicinally for headaches. I'm sure there are other uses for it too. I believe it's very bitter.
This plant is Marah oreganus - Manroot, aka Wild Cucumber. This plant has been used medicinally, but no part of this plant is edible.
The fruits consist of a fleshy skin covering a pithy center filled with flat round seeds the size of a dime. The juice of this plant is extqremely bitter. As kids on the farm, we used to pick these fruits, roll them between the palms of our hands until they became soft, then aim them at each other and squeeze and the seeds would shoot out. We also used the dime-size seeds as play money.
