Green fruit is edible, ripe black fruit is not
Cute Cuke! Melothria Pendula
The Melothria pendula is a little cucumber with a big reputation.
That said, when it comes to the “creeping cucumber” I’m not sure you can trust botanists who never get out of the college classroom, or Internet experts who’ve never eaten a wild plant. It is one thing to copy, it is another to consume.
Crushed leaf smells like a cucumber
If you search the web for Melothria pendula (Mel-OTH-ree-uh PEND-you-luh) you will find two contradicting comments, that it’s edible and that it’s toxic. The state of North Carolina calls it mildly toxic, the state of Florida does not, one person says it is harmless, the other say it is harmful. Actually what they say in their own way is that at some point the Melothria pendula becomes the Mother of all Laxatives.
All I can say is I’ve eaten a lot of light to medium green M. pendula at a time with no apparent harm and have known others to eat them as well. Many people put them in salads as they would cherry tomatoes. So where does the problem lie? Probably with the ripening fruit, or the one and only historical account was wrong. The little cukes turn black as they ripen and that’s probably a good sign to leave them alone. But green it’s salad here we come. The state of North Carolina adds its toxicity is low even if purgative.
Think jelly bean size watermelon
Professor Julia Morton, in the fifth edition of her book “Wild Plants for Survival in South Florida” says: “… the unripe fruit resembling miniature watermelons, are certainly eaten by children in South Florida with no apparent harm. F.P.Porcher in 1863 referred to the seeds as ‘drastically purgative’; no evidence of that has come to hand to support that. In the West Indies and Central America, the fruits of M. guadalupensis are eaten ripe and pickled unripe.”
In the 2002 edition of the academic journal Ciencia Ego Sum, authors Amaury M. Arzate-Fernández and Graciela Noemí Grenón-Cascales, investigated growing the M. pendula up to 8,500 feet. Translated from the Spanish, with thanks from my friend, Manuel Mora-Valls, they say:
Dimpled five-petaled flower on a long stem
“Melothria pendula L. has been mentioned as a wild species of the Cucurbitaceae family in Mexico that continues without being studied to its full extend (Lira et al., 1998). The necessity of proteins, for man as well as for the livestock, is of high priority, and for this reason that the production of plants as source of amino acids is researched.
According to the “chemical-bromatologic” analysis of this plant carried out in the present work, this vegetal species under study constitutes a source of water, vitamins, minerals and, amazingly, also proteins. The fruits of this plant, despite its reduced size, has a pleasant sweet flavor and are edible for humans. Besides, its foliage is given to livestock as forage. For this reason, this “wild cucumber” could be an additional nutritional alternative for men and animals.”
They say it is 12.6% protein, 16.30% fiber and 56.8% carbohydrates. They also say the entire plant is good for ruminants. Propagation is by seed and cuttings. Not bad for a plant the Tarheel state lists as toxic. What I would like to know is whether the leaves cooked are fit for human consumption. I’ll have to find out some day.
Of these five I woud only eat the two light green ones.
The fruit of the M. pendula is only about one to two centimeters long and looks like a perfect, smooth, miniature watermelon. But, it has a definite “cucumber” aroma and taste, some times a slightly tart cucumber taste. They are crisp when light green, but grow mushy when dark green — like an overripe cucumber — and not at all pleasant when black. I suspect that if the seeds are purgative it is when they’re mature, which is what happens to another gourd, the Momordica charantia. M. Charantia is edible when green and cooked but quite toxic and not edible when ripe. To learn more about the M. charantia .
Another little cuke that is close in size and use to the M. pendula but with no reports of laxative issues when ripe is Melothria scabra, or the Mexican Gherkin or Mexican Sour Gherkin. Its seeds can be ordered from a variety of seed-sellers online.
M. pendula (also called the Guadeloupe cucumber) is a perennial vine with leaves that are palmately lobed — like a hand with pointed tips. The largest leaves, near the base of the plant, are about 2-inches long. The leaves grow smaller towards the tip of the vine. Like other members in the family, it has curly tendrils to grab other plants for support. The vines can reach many feet long and form mats or spiderweb-like drapes. The flowers are yellow and very small with five petals. Its preferred habitat is along the edges of marshes, sandy roadsides, low woods, parking lot shrubs, and almost any fence.
M. pendula is found from Pennsylvania to Florida, west to Texas and Nebraska, and throughout the world. Other scientific names include: Melothria nigra, Melothria nashii, Melothria microcarpa, Melothria guadalupensis, Melothria fluminensis, and Melothria edulis.
Green Deane’s “Itemized” Plant Profile
IDENTIFICATION: Vine with slender, climbing stems and curled tendrils. Leaves dark green, three to five lobes, 1.5 to 3 inches, resembles English Ivy but more delicate. Flowers, small, yellow, five petaled, notched at the end. Fruit looks like doll-size watermelon, green and mottled or lightly speckled when unripe, black when ripe, filled with juicy pulp and whitish seeds.
TIME OF YEAR: In northern climes in fruit in summer, like a cucumber. In southern areas it can fruit all year if no frost.
ENVIRONMENT: They grow from moist to occasionally watered spots, often found draping on shrubs.
METHOD OF PREPARATION: Young light green melon can be eaten out of hand or added to salads for a cucumber flavor and aroma. They can be pickled. Remember, do not eat dark green or black fruit. Otherwise they are a nice nibble.
What can you tell me about the cucumis melo var. dudaim.(AKA smellmelon) (AKA Muskmelon)? I have these beauts all over my yard here in southeast texas and was wondering if they are edible?? Hate for them to go to waste.
Any advice is very appreciated MR. Green Deane
They are usually considered not edible but that’s a tad inaccurate. They were used to make preservies, such as marmalade out of the rind, or the rind was pickled like watermelon rind. There is one old report that they were boiled a long time like a vegetable but I’m not sure that would get rid of the bitterness. I don’t have any to experiment with.
Thanks for this article! I have several of these vines that popped up in my container flower pots. I put a couple of tomato cages in the planters and wound them around the wire. They started having fruit and I was tickled to see the tiny cukes! So I thought I will let them get bigger and harvest them later….now they are black like little olives! Too late now! Oh well, i’ll see if they come up again next year and pick them when they are green and crunchy!
Thank you for important informations! I know the leaves are edible but I want to know more about the nutrient content of Melothria Pendula leaves.
This is very interesting. I believe I found this plant in southern New York State. Is it native to this part of the world/ is it a problem? Thank you!
they (Melothria pendula) come up in my side yard every year and I have always thought they were good to eat while green. The dark ones always had a funky taste which is why I always left those to re-seed the area. It’s great to find a positive id on the little things
I knew this plant was edible, but was not sure what part. I had doubts about the fruit. I too wonder about the leaves. to bad the fruits have gone soft now. I have never had enough courage to try this until now.
I have these things all over my woods and have been cautiously nibbling on them. Now I can really enjoy myself thanks to this new information. I’m just wondering why the squirrels don’t seem to eat them. They seem to eat everything else; mushrooms, maple seeds, pine cones, and acorn. None of which taste very good to me. Just so weird that these little cukes can taste so good to me and not be part of something else’s diet.
These have become a bit of an invasive weed in my yard. I’ve always wondered if I could eat them – especially the light green ones – they smell so much like a cucumber when cut open. The black ones never tempted me at all. Now that I can eat them, I can think more kindly of them as I pull them off my rose bushes!
I would like to retract my last statement, I in fact DID see a squirrel searching for, picking and eating one of these things. I just never noticed it before, maybe because these things are only out for a short time during the year.
How can I kill the plant withour killing my juniper?
Killing plants is not my area of expertise. You could pull it out of the ground before it fruits. If you did that for a while it might get rid of it.
i just got some seeds to plant these little melons. so let me get this right. you can eat them whin they are lite green. an dont eat them whin they start to ture black right? and they have a hint of a lime tast as well? how long dose it take after you plant them befor the melons appear on the vines? and how long do the vines grow? thank you for anyone that can help with the anwsers.
They grwo quickly, a couple of months…
hey deane, thanks to your website I found some of these on a neighborhood bush on my evening walk last night. I looked at the vine and said I know that plant and looked back on your website to confirm and ate some of these tasty little watermelons. I gave one to my wife and said they would be a great addition to salads. I also took some home to plant in my small area of my yard for “wild” edibles. thank you for what you do.
Hi Deane, Your website and you tube videos are so packed with useful accurate educational information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I would love to try Melothria pendula on my property do you know of a source of seeds. I live in northwest Florida. Thanks!
Thank you very much for your site. Just been on a vacation in the northern part of the Philippines and our guide on our way to the falls had shown me the fruits of this vine and told me it’s a wild cucumber. I tasted the light-green fruit and it tasted just how you described it. I went on to eat a few more and picked some black ones for planting. But before I do that, I did some research and came across several varieties of wild cucumbers which do not match the fruits I’ve eaten. Am really so thankful for your info, perfectly matches what I’ve eaten and the black ones which I’ll be planting in a pot, for I dont have a yard to plant it on. Thanks, thanks so much!
These appear in my side yard (sandy soil on the edge of the woods in NE Florida) & I’ve always let them be since the butterflies LOVE the little yellow flowers, and for a vining plant, they are not what I would call “invasive”. They are also rather attractive. After reading your article, I plucked a small bright green fruit, cut it in half, & it smelled just like a cucumber. I tried it & it even tasted just like one. I now what to propagate these along my lattice since the butterflies love them, they are pretty but not too invasive, & edible to boot! Thanks for the informative article! 🙂
I just found some of these here in orlando and they do taste just like little cucumbers! I couldn’t help but taste one of the black ones and notice that it’s a little bit sweet, almost grape like. Do you know if there’s any way to process the black ones so you don’t have to worry about the adverse effects? Maybe boiling to make jelly? Or drying to make sweet cucumber raisins?
No, but if you discover a way please let me know.
I also had here , about the recipe , we can make it a salad… Mixed with other cucumber slice and olive oil and little salt 🧂.. or the green one youcan mixed with little vinigret and sugar…less salt to taste…
I also ate a black one. It tasted good, like a sweet tart cucumber. Kind of like watermelon rind. Luckily it didn’t make me sick. But it was only one.
I love these little veggies. I eat them as I water my garden or I use them in salads. I have suffered no side affects. If I grow them again I will put them in my flower garden to go up the trellis as they are a pretty plant.
Hi Green Deane: I live in Central New York and have what I think is this vine in our backyard, crawling all around bamboo plants. However, each piece of fruit is covered in spikes/thorns. Is this the same plant??? Thank you, Joanne
No, totally different. You might want to ask Steve Brill.
Ah, thank you so much for this. A couple of vines appeared along the fence, coming from my neighbor’s yard last year. I left them alone. This year, they are back and I decided to finally figure out what they are. I’m curious where they came from. I’m in Nashville. I wonder if it was from a bird’s droppings. Regardless, I’ll keep an eye out for the black fruits to keep them away from my daughter. I don’t think any made it that far last year, thanks to the squirrels.
Do you know if it is ok if dogs eat the leaves? My dogs find them growing in the grass and eat the leaves. So far I have not noticed any ill effect. Maybe it is a laxative for them. I have read that dogs won’t eat weeds that are poisonous; but don’t know if that is true.
I’ve not heard of any problem with Melothria pendual and dogs. Bitter Gourd, yes, but not creeping cucumber.
Out of the seven dogs I own, six ate it, and while I mistakenly thought it was a milkweed, it was not. And yes, it will make them ill. Maybe one or two would not, but I can tell you, and show you, my astronomical vet bill. I think, as someone mentioned, it was the fact they ate too much, OR, the black ones are not healthy for them. Even if humans and wildlife can eat it, that does not make it safe for dogs. Another problem was the amount of rain we had this year. Everything on the property was in abundance like I have never seen in twenty years. Hope this helps. It is hard to remove. But if you look up green solutions, you will find a way to do it with Salt and Vinegar.
What perfect timing! We have this plant growing on Coco Plum shrubs where we installed a landscape in Vero Beach. I am so glad we did not remove it. It was fruiting the last time we examined it. I can’t wait to eat some of the green fruits.
I spent so much time pulling these from my flower beds and off of my porch railing last year. I thought they looked scary (poisonous) but Im glad to find that they are not too bad. Funny thing though- I special ordered some new seeds to try this year among which was Melothria scabra, or the Mexican Sour Gherkin. Sheesh! I wish I had known that I already had something similar growing abundantly as a weed in my yard!
When I lived in north Florida I would occasionally run across these and loved to add them to a salad. Now that I have moved up north, I look for some each time in vacation in Florida but have yet to find any at the right time to collect for seeds. Are these sold anywhere?
The seeds of a close relative are sometimes sold under the name “Mexican gherkins” aka Melothria scabra. I would think if you searched the botanical name in Spanish you could find some sellers because it is a recommended food in Mexico.
Melothria pendula seeds are now sold by on the Experimental Farm Network website.
I have just discovered a vine growing wild on my backyard garden fence. I will be happy to send a couple of dried ripe fruits for free to anyone who would like to try growing some. Each little fruit is packed with seeds. So you probably only need one or two fruits. Email me.
Email me at winstonwilliams1@hotmail.com and I will mail a couple of dried ripe fruits to you. No problem
My young lab loves to eat on these vines. I was curious to know if it was harmful to her. Relieved to find your site. Thanks for the info! 🙂
However bitter gourd is toxic to dogs.
My dog loves to eat the flowers off of these vines. She walks along them and pulls off the flowers one by one. She is the 2nd dog I’ve had at this house and both loved the vines. I try not to let her get too carried away, but hasn’t seemed to bother her. She is 9 years old and super healthy.
My dog (Cairn Terrier) would pick the leaves off this plant and eat them one by one whenever it found this vine. Never suffered any ill effects. I wondered if the fruits could be eaten, so interesting article.
Thanks for the info. Had some cute cukes in my morning yard grazing today, just past fall equinox in zone 7b. Nice with my carolina raspberries! Thank you for sharing.Lynne
This is our first time growing cucamelons. Why the black berries? What did we do wrong or how do we grow them properly?
If you are referring to Melothria pendula, you eat the little fruit when they are green, not black.
The spiky “wild cucumber” is Echinocystis lobata and should not be allowed to grow, flower, fruit, etc. Nasty plant. Even if edible the spikes and spines would discourage use. It looks just like a squash plant but starts much earlier in the spring. Hopeful gardeners think it might be a loose pumpkin until it covers a tree and becomes impossible to remove since the spikes will go through gloves.
I just worked up the nerve to eat one of the melothria pendula yesterday; they have grown on my fence for years. They are good and I have been putting them in salad. I at a black one too and it was sweet. No ill effects.
I bought the seed of the Melothria scabra syn. pendula and got it to grow up my 2x2m trellis. It is covering it almost completely now and it is such a lovey and prolific plant that I will grow it every year. Does anyone know how to harvest the seeds? D I just keep a few on the vine until they go soggy and remove the seeds, dry them etc? These are my all time favorite cucumbers and I’m chuffed they have so much protein as I’m sending my son, a vegan. some of these seeds.
Harvest the seeds the same way you could collect cucumber seeds. You harvest seeds when the fruit is too soft to eat. Remove the seeds and put them in a bowl with water to cover slightly. Set them in a non-sunny spot and let them ferment. They will smell badly and at 90F this is will between one and two days. Stir. When ready the good seeds will sink to the bottom. Then you add more water, stir, pour off the debris and keep doing this until you have only clean seeds. Dump into a strainer, pat dry, let them further dry on a non-stick surface.
Wow I have them III n my garden also and did not know what it is !
Thank you for the info.
When they turn black and fall off
I can assure you it is edible when green. I eat them all the time. The black ones will give you diarhea. Nothing like first hand experience but I don’t reccommend it.
I was wondering what it was as I had several of them growing wildly in the garden. Interesting flavor, good to know that light green is the best time to eat them. I just wish not that I hadn’t pulled them out and discarded them. Well I know they’ll be back next year.
Whether it’s edible or not, it’s taking over my flower beds like Kudzu. I have no interest in the gourmet aspect of this annoying vine. How do I kill it w/o hurting my shrubs and plants?
It grows from seeds every year. Just pull it out before it fruits. On the other hand why not eat it?
I was amazed when I saw in my front yard a single cucumber fruit growing. Interestingly i then spread the seeds of my other over riped cucumber which i had on the fridge just accross our street in the hope that i would be able to harvest more cucumbers. Then few weeks after, i checked the spot. I was searching for the hairy vines because for now I was expecting to have grown already but what i saw were creeping vines on our bamboo fence which looks like that of cucumber but mini. I was really surprised to see what looked like”tiny watermelon” dangling from the vines. Though I was unsure, i grabbed the darkest one and opened it and saw the seeds were like that of cucumbers. How? And so, I grabbed anther one and tasted it. Confirmed! BUt how come it grew like that so I searched on the internet and now I know what are those tiny watermelons are. THanks to your article.
Leaves are edible but are cooked in Thailand. Will give the green cukes a try tomorrow, noticed them along our trellis. Thank you.
Thanks for this information article. I’ve been feeding these berries to my chickens when they turn black. I’ve always called them chicken berries. They love them! Now that I know, I’ll feed them the green ones instead!
Thanks to each of you for identifying this plant. I plucked a few of the fruit, tastes like a cucumber. I do not know where it came from hopefully I will be able to transfer it to a different spot.
Thank you for the info! I’ve been enjoying these cute cukes for three years now, ever since confirming their status from your website. Hadn’t seen them at all anywhere here in SW Oklahoma until they suddenly appeared in my backyard. I’m glad I just let them grow, we can get at least a gallon of cucumbers every September/October from just a 12 foot patch growing on my 4 foot high fence!
“Happy grazing” to all y’all! 😀
B.G.
Just bought some from a veggie vendor ! Excited to pickle —but confused —are they high in carbs —i know cucumbers are not —thanks
No, they are not high in carbs, or at least no more than cucumbers.
thank you, my dogs eat these leaves when we go on walks! I don’t have any in my yard so decided to look for the seeds so I could plant them in my yard for them. I found the little yellow/greenish seeds and tried to just plant them. Me having no idea what/how to plant them I just barried them , but they never came up. Now I know that I can eat them and also how to plant them. Thank you for this site Its been forever driving me crazy trying to find out what these leaves were.
Like michelle mentioned, my dog loves the leaves of these as well. I haven’t seen him have any adverse effect from them. It always surprises me how great of an edible these are, and they grow like crazy in my backyard here in Harris County, GA.
Is anyone growing these in pots and if so what planting medium did you use?
Same a cucumbers.
Thank you so much for this post! I have been searching for a few hours to find out what these are, because my dog has suddenly decided that they are doggie treats!
I will try one of the greenies today and if I like it I will add it to my salad at dinner.
As always, wonderful information to be found here.
Thank you. I have tried to get rid of this for years, and wondered what I was up against. The cucumber smell always permeated the air when weeding. Now I am going to try one since it is a weed/ food.
Does anyone know to what zone these are hardy and remain perennial? I’ve heard they are perennial in 5b Maryland, I’m in 5b Colorado.
Like several of your other readers, I found your site while trying to figure out what the weed was that my dogs (hound mix and Akita mix) love to munch. I’m glad to hear it apparently has no ill effects, but still wonder why they eat this particular plant (and pretty much only this particular plant)… might it perhaps reflect some nutritional deficiency in their diet that they somehow instinctively know what to do for? Until now, I have regarded these Creeping Cukes as just a particularly obnoxious weed, but now I will have to watch for the green berries next summer, and will leave a couple of out-of-the-way patches as doggie treats. Now I’m looking forward to browsing (no pun intended) thru the rest of your goodies… when I was a wee lad (a very long time ago), my Dad took special pleasure in harvesting and eating wild things from our yard… day lilies, poke weed, dandelions, puffballs, etc. Now it’s time to relive some of those good times. Many thanks for your comprehensive, thoroughly informative site!
Thanks for writing. Given the sense of smell dogs have there might be something about the plant that attracts them.
This creeping cucumber has completely covered my Spanish palm. If left alone, will it destroy the palm?
Hate to destroy the creepy. It does come back every year.
It comes back from seeds. So if you eat the fruit or remove them no seeds to germinate.
I’ve got these very attractive looking English looking ivy with watermelon looking fruit coming out of my garden. Searched some and found this article. It’s exactly what is in my yard. It’s a very nice addition to my garden but is there anything I need to be aware of if I just let it grow? Oh. By the way. I haven’t tried any of the fruit. I’m always skeptical of things that I’m not familiar with. Love this article. Thanks
Creeping Cucumbers + well water + Himalayan sea salt + a few days to a week at room temperature = pickled wild cucumbers. https://photos.app.goo.gl/khsKY9a8KR4xQ97Q7
I’ve been in my house 20 years and I just discovered these on my fence this summer. I’ve tried the light green and I’ve tried the dark/purple. I kind of prefered the darker. I’ve only had a few but they seemed alright.
Found these in Oklahoma and had no idea what they were. I tried a bite and they were very tasty. I’m sure glad I didn’t eat them when they were ripe!