Had an interesting plant come up this year in the chicken compost.

The plant looks similar to a swan gourd.


The flowers are tiny


The developing fruit looks like one of my maxixie crossed with a prickly pear... or a cholla.


Except the fruit is in bundles...
So... ideas?

Weird!

Google suggests it is One-Seeded Bur Cucumber (Sicyos angulatus)

That sounds like an appropriate name.

janinilulu said: Google suggests it is One-Seeded Bur Cucumber (Sicyos angulatus)

Sicyos angulatus, the one seed bur cucumber or star-cucumber is an annual vine in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, native to eastern North America.

Hmmm....
Cool, Thanks!

Grain importation is the most likely pathway of accidental introduction of S. angulatus, considering the situation in Japan, France or Norway

I think this is how it came to my house too... There were a number of seedpods that looked like cocklebur in the corn from tractor supply...

In its native range, S. angulatus grows mainly on riverbanks or in thickets. In its introduced range, it is mainly found on riverbanks or soils close to rivers ...
This plant grows mostly as a weed of maize crops, but can also colonize soybeans...

The burr cucumber reseeds itself readily and is considered a noxious weed in Indiana, Delaware and Kentucky. It is not listed as a noxious weed in Pennsylvania although it is becoming an increasing problem in no-till agriculture. It creeps into the fields from hedgerows and ditches where it tends to establish itself. The plant thrives in sunny wet locations.

The plant seems to have no use although the leaves are said to be edible, as is the seed. Care should be taken with the sap, as it may be irritating.

I'm getting the feeling that I've got a plant that I may not want...

Edible parts of Bur Cucumber: Leaves - cooked. They can be cooked as greens. The fruit is said to be edible. Possibly the seed is edible but there is no flesh on the fruit, it is just a bristly skin around the seed. The fruit is about 1cm long and is borne in small clusters.

Maybe I better try cooking before destroying.

One-Seeded Bur Cucumber, Sicyos angulatus, is a medicinal plant with questionable edibility. Medicinally, it was used for venereal disease in women and used as a veterinary aid for the difficult delivery of a calf. As for its edibility there is no historic evidence of any American Indians using this plant for food. If you have evidence contrary to this or have used it for food please contact me and let me know.

Or not...

Sicyos angulatus Prevents High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Insulin Resistance in Mice

I'm not an obese mouse...

Sicyos angulatus ameliorates acute liver injury by inhibiting oxidative stress via upregulation of anti-oxidant enzymes

Hmmm...

I think this is one plant you could consider removing untasted.

Interesting and fun find but I agree, it sounds like you should throw the remains into the wild and not devote garden space to it.

According to what I've been reading this is entirely too aggressive to toss into the wild.

Of course, it seems unlikely to colonize the dry sand here... Seeing as it's mostly known for invading wet areas...

But... definitely not giving it the chance!
In my garden, it can be observed and controlled... And, readily available when I decide how to prepare as a meal...

Kinda interested in pinning down the edibility...

I know that edible is an interest of yours I just always remind myself edible and TASTY are two different things.

sallyg said: I just always remind myself edible and TASTY are two different things.

Yeah...
I tried chameleon plant (Houttuynia) recently... Fish mint comes with a ton of recommendations, and... tastes as bad as it smells.
https://www.potsandpans.in/blo...

you're braver than I am by far!
first time I've seen 'mint' added to that one's name. Marketing.

Anything called "fish mint" wouldn't even get close enough to me to smell, let alone actually put in my mouth to taste!

sallyg said: it sounds like you should throw the remains into the wild and not devote garden space to it.

Yesterday I checked the vine and saw that it was devoting all it's energy into seed production... setting immense numbers of thorny pods...
So... pulled a bunch of the vine out of tree and gave to chickens... they were happy to eat the leaves.

I don't remember ever giving cucurbit leaves to my chickens, or them finding the vines and eating them. But the groundhog 'said' that pumpkin vine leaves taste great, so

Yeah... The chickens are very happy when they get the maxixe vines... Those leaves are said to also be edible (by people), but I haven't found a recipe yet...
But, yeah, chickens like squash leaves, pumpkin leaves, also any squash or pumpkins I give them get eaten in short order.

Don't know about groundhog, I reckon that's somewhat of a blessing.

That's interesting. I often have various squash/pumpkin/cucumber vines come up in the chicken pasture. They have never eaten any of them.

Are you sure?
While the chickens would rather eat bugs... they appreciate roughage too.
Try cutting a mature squash in half, and leave the cut halves showing...
Come back in a day or two and inspect for beak marks.
Mine hollow the squash out to a rind fairly soon.

Oh, I'm sure they'd eat the squash; they do.They're the ones who plant the seeds which grow into the vines which they don't eat. They prefer grass and other things growing in their pasture.