Cucurbitaceae: Echinocystis lobata
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Family Name
Cucurbitaceae
Common Name
Wild cucumber, prickly cucumber
Native American Name
Lakota: waȟnáȟnaheča
Description
Echinocystis lobata is an annual, fast-growing, climbing vine from a fibrous root system that can reach lengths over 6 meters, with tendrils that help it climb shrubs and fences. Stems are slender, green to reddish, and covered with fine hairs and small prickles. Leaves are alternate, palmately lobed with 5–7 deeply cut lobes, 8 to 18 cm long and wide, broadly ovate with coarsely toothed margins and a rough, hairy texture. The petioles are about 6 to 15 centimeters long. Flowering occurs from June to September, producing small, white to pale greenish flowers in leaf axils. Flowers are unisexual and monoecious, with male flowers in open clusters and female flowers solitary or few. Each flower has five greenish-white sepals about 5 to 8 millimeters long and no true petals; instead, the sepal lobes form petal-like structures. Male flowers have numerous stamens fused into a column with anthers around 1 to 2 millimeters long. Female flowers have a single superior ovary with three styles ending in clustered stigmas. The fruit is a spiny, inflated capsule about 4 to 6 centimeters long and 3 to 5 centimeters wide, covered with hooked prickles, maturing in late summer to early fall and splitting open to release numerous seeds. Wild cucumber is native to South Dakota and is commonly found in moist woods, riverbanks, thickets, and edge habitats statewide.
Horticulture Notes
Seed Collection: Seeds are mature when fruits turn brown and begin to dry and split; collect seeds in early fall.
Germination: Seeds benefit from cold stratification for 60–90 days and scarification to break hard seed coats; sow in spring after stratification. Fall planting will yield some success, but many of the seeds will remain dormant until the following year.
Vegetative Propagation: Not commonly propagated vegetatively; reproduction is primarily by seed.
Soils: Prefers moist, fertile, well-drained soils but tolerates a range of soil types.
Light: Grows best in full sun to partial shade.
Water: Prefers moderate moisture, tolerates occasional flooding; established plants tolerate short dry spells.
Additional Notes
Wild cucumber is mostly ornamental or considered a nuisance due to its vigorous growth. It is native to South Dakota and serves as important cover and food for wildlife, particularly songbirds and small mammals who consume the seeds. The large inflatable fruits provide shelter for insects. It provides summer shade and some habitat value. Historically, some Indigenous groups used root preparations medicinally.