A native plant in the Gourd family, this is a common trailing or climbing vine wuth small green-white flowers. The distinctive thing about this plant is the fruit, a baseball sized spiny seedcase that turns from green to brown as it ripens.
Indians used the plant for medicinal purposes, but since it was used for venereal disease and baldness, it is unclear if it was effective. The root is very bitter, and was used both for tanning leather, and to stupify fish when crushed and put in streams.
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Marah oreganus Howell
(syns Sicyos oregana Torrey & A. Gray, Echinocystis oregana Cogn.)
Wild Cucumber
A decoction of the fruit has been used by the Washington Salish Indians of the north-western coast of N. America for treating scrofula sores (Turner & Bell 1971).
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[This message has been edited by treepatrol (edited 23 August 2005).]
I am trying to find a worm wood plant thta is native to North Georgia and Western Carolinas--any body know anything about that?
L
Is this a quiz? Do we get a prize if we guess right?
Sounds like a buckeye to me.
Ann - OH
The first picture looked more like a gourd kind of weed--this one does look like some tree fruit. But the first image treepatrol posted looked like a volunteer squash plant in the yard.
L
From here.
First pic
A native plant in the Gourd family, this is a common trailing or climbing vine wuth small green-white flowers. The distinctive thing about this plant is the fruit, a baseball sized spiny seedcase that turns from green to brown as it ripens.
Indians used the plant for medicinal purposes, but since it was used for venereal disease and baldness, it is unclear if it was effective. The root is very bitter, and was used both for tanning leather, and to stupify fish when crushed and put in streams.
Its almost worrd for word what Aries327 posted
The Iroquois sent the flower to England as a remedy.
