Bur Cucumber

Plant Info

Also known as:	Oneseed Burr Cucumber
Scientific name:	Sicyos angulatus
Family:	Cucumber (Cucurbitaceae)
Life cycle:	annual
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun to shade; moist woods, thickets, edges of streams
Bloom season:	late summer to early fall
Plant height:	5 to 20 foot vine
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Bur Cucumber has both male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers are in a raceme of 3 to 10 flowers clustered at the end of a long stem attached opposite a leaf stem. Individual flowers are ½ inch across, 5 greenish-white pointed petals, tinged green at the base, with a few pale green veins along the length of the petal. A group of pale yellow-tipped stamen protrudes from the center. The female flowers are an inconspicuous small head-like cluster on a short stalk where the fruit eventually develops.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are about the same length and width, from 4 to 8 inches across, with 3 to 5 shallow lobes. Depending on the depth of the lobes, the shape is somewhat like an angular heart, or maple leaf. There are tiny widely spaced teeth all around the edges. The underside of leaves are finely hairy; the stems are very hairy. The plant has brancing tendrils that entwine around other plants

Fruit:

A cluster of up to 10 pod-like containers forms from the female flower heads. Each pod is oval or egg-shaped, ½ to 1 inch long and covered in spines and long white hairs. Each contains a single seed. The color is initially green and eventually turns brown.

Notes:

Bur Cucumber and Wild Cucumber are easily distinguished by the different flower shapes. Both grow in similar habitats around the same time, but Wild Cucumber blooms a little earlier. Wild Cucumber is completely hairless, and its fruit is singular and much larger.

More photos

• Bur Cucumber vine

More white wildflowers. Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, and Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, Coon Rapids, MN, August-September 2007

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?

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Please: Do not ask about where to buy seed or other gardening questions, are plants edible, etc. I am not a horticulturist or botanist, just an enthusiastic hobbyist so I probably don't know the answer. Please check the links page for additional resources. -thanks much

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