Scientific Family
Cucurbitaceae
Synonyms
Sicyos bourgaeanus, S. laciniata, S. laciniatus var. genuinus, S. laciniatus var. subinteger, S. parvifolia
Other common names
cutleaf burr cucumber
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Sicyos laciniatus
Height
Up to about 3 feet long
Riparian
Yes
Weak-stemmed vine, climbs on other plants using spiral tendrils that uncoil to support the stems. Coarse green leaves have several, narrow, rounded lobes. Tiny whitish to pale yellow bell-shaped flowers grow in rounded clusters from the stem axils.
Slender climbing vine, branched tendrils; leaf lobes rounded, shallow, not cleft to the middle, leaves to 5 inches long; flowers have 5 whitish to pale yellow rounded petals; fruits to 1/4 inch long in head-like cluster, armed with minutely barbed spines.
Habitat
Usually found in shady areas along streams and riparian woods (cottonwood-willow, juniper, oak and pine-oak forests) as well as canyons, rocky slopes, cliff faces and bases.
Plant Community
Riparian
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
4000
High elevation
5500
Flower Characteristics
Male and female flowers grow on the same plant; both flower stalks arise from the same leaf axil (between the stem and the leaf). The longer male stalk has 3 to 10 tiny 5-petaled flowers while the shorter female stalk has a cluster of 4 to 10 flowers.
Flower color
Whitish to pale yellow
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaf blades are about 5 inches long, 4 inches wide, covered with short stiff hairs and have narrow rounded lobes with short spines. Leaf stalks are as long as the blades or longer. Stems are glandular-sticky but the glands are shed with age.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit is a "pepo" with an oval shape. It's about 1/4 inch long, covered by a hard rind and grows in a rounded cluster. The pepo is densely covered with small (1/8 inch) straw-colored spines that have backward-pointing barbed hooks at their tips.
Fruit type
Berry-like
Fruit color
Green
The fruit contains a single smooth seed. The seed has 2 conspicuous scars at its base marking its detachment from the fruit.