Scientific Family
Cucurbitaceae
Other common names
melon loco
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Similar species
Apodanthera aspera
Height
1 to 6 inches
Riparian
No
Foul-smelling, grayish, hairy plant; long, coarse, prostrate stems bear tendrils; round to kidney-shaped leaves; yellow funnel-shaped flowers; melons have raised, longitudinal ridges; massive taproot, diameter to 8 inches. Male and female on same plant.
Prostrate or trailing vine distinguished by grayish-green yellowish-green round, shallowly lobed leaves with rough, stiff hairs that feel like sandpaper to the touch, wavy leaf margins; large yellow male or female flowers; fruits hard-shelled.
Habitat
Found in dry soils, sometimes on limestone soils, sand dunes, gravelly flats, grasslands and roadsides.
Plant Community
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2500
High elevation
5500
Flower Characteristics
Staminate flowers clustered in lower axils; stamens 3, the anthers sessile, 1 anther 1-celled and the others 2-celled; pistillate flowers solitary in upper axils; the ovary has 3 placentae (seed chambers); the stigma 3-lobed.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Round to kidney-shaped, finely toothed at the tip of the lobes, margins wavy, sparsely hairy, often sharply roughened above, whitish and densely hairy below; studded with fine rough points between veins above, coarse points below.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Egg-shaped pepo (fleshy, splits open when ripe, many-seeded fruit with a tough rind), longitudinally ribbed, 1-1/2 to 2 inches wide, hairy, on stems 1-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches long. Fruit can grow up to 4 inches.
Fruit type
Berry-like
Fruit color
Grayish-green, yellowish-green