Scientific Family
Cucurbitaceae
Other common names
coyote gourd
fingerleaf gourd
finger-leafed gourd
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
Trailing to 32 feet
Riparian
No
Easy to recognize due to trailing stems and long, leaflets arranged like the fingers of a hand; leaves are bi-colored, nearly white on the mid-vein and green toward the lobe margins; often rooting at nodes; bright yellow flowers.
Vine; stems lay on the ground; slender stems distantly run, but rarely climb; ribbed, slender stems, without hairs, whitish with flat oval outgrowths (hair-like), tendrils; leaves palmately lobed, lobed nearly to the base, lobes narrow.
Habitat
Sandy, sedimentary soil of washes and valleys or on dry plains and mesas. Grasslands, juniper-scrub, oak savannas (rarely), canal banks, stream bottoms and sides, wash and arroyo banks, dry stream channels, alluvial plains, rocky slopes, disturbed sites.
Plant Community
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
5000
Flower Characteristics
Yellow, star-shaped, 5 pointed lobes, broadly tubular and 2 inches long. Flowers open for only a very brief time around dawn; sparsely hairy.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
October
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Trailing stems to 32 feet long, 3 feet common; leaf blades 5-parted to base, lobes lance-like and slender, 2 to 4 inches or longer, very hairy beneath; side lobes vary in shape and size; leaf stems (petiole) commonly 3 inches long.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green, white veined
Leaf shape
Palmate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Spherical to oblong gourd to 3-1\2 inches in diameter; vivid dark green, 10 narrow stripes, variably speckled; turn yellow and then solid tan as they dry. Fruits are pepos, a modified berry with a hard outer rind typical of Cucurbita genus.
Fruit type
Other
Fruit color
Green
White, about 1/3 inch long.