Prickly cucumber

Echinocystis lobata

The plant is an annual vine, flowering in summer and fall and setting fruit that resemble small, very prickly cucumbers.  They are not related to garden cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, although today we did find a cucumber beetle in one of the fruits.

Wild cucumber vines reach from 2-10′ (60-300 cm).  The leaves are large and lobed, resembling maple leaves in shape.  The stem is square, and like garden cucumbers, it has curling tendrils that allow it to grasp and climb.  It readily overgrows trees and shrubs.