I was driving on 35 W just South of Minneapolis and saw a vine that literally covered a large number of trees, fences, and shrubs along the highway….even traveling at 60 mph the vine was clearly visible. The vine was covered with small white flowers and I thought they looked quite pretty….but then thought to myself, “YIKES! Are these guys friends or foes?”……UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE FOES! The vine is a wild cucumber vine (Echinocystis lobata).
Don’t let the name fool you….While they are “wild”, and native to Minnesota, they can do a lot of damage to trees and shrubs by adding weight to the branches and blocking sunlight from growing leaves. And while they are named “cucumber” and are related to the domestic vegetable, they are not edible. The prickly “cucumbers” consist not of fleshy fruit, but of two seed chambers containing lacy netting. The netting holds four large seeds in place until the fruit ripens and the seeds drop to the ground to begin a new vine.
A good thing
When the seed chamber dries it is quite interesting, and a creative person could find uses for it…..maybe in floral arrangements…or painted as Christmas decorations….your imagination is the limit.
How to control
If you find them in your yard or garden you need to pull them out by the roots…BEFORE the seeds are released from the pods. Chemical use is not necessary.
