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 Leaves Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial Similar Species: Apodanthera aspera
General Desc:
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.
Identification notes: 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.
Height:
1 to 6 inches
Habitat Description: Found in dry soils, sometimes on limestone soils, sand dunes, gravelly flats, grasslands and roadsides.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Semidesert Grasslands, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 2500 - 5500 feet
Color:
Yellow
Shape:
Regular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Jun - Sep
Description:
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.
Leaf Color:
Grayish-green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
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.
Fruit Color: Grayish-green, yellowish-green
Fruit Type: Berry-like
Fruit Notes: 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.
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