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I need help identifying a strange fruit I discovered while camping. Its characteristics are:

  • Roughly pear-shaped
  • Bright green
  • Dark green "spikes" on fruit
  • Grown on a vine
  • Large seeds (≈1 in)
  • Fruit is ≈4 in
  • found on cliff face in the San Juans in Washington in the United States
Tea Drinker
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Opticow
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  • Hi and welcome to the site. Photos are always advised for *identification* questions. You'll get better answers, too, with photos. Can you add one? – Tea Drinker May 16 '15 at 12:31

1 Answers1

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Sounds like something in the cucumber family. There are only two species in Washington State in that family that have green, spiny fruit: wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) and coastal manroot (Marah oreganus). The Marah has larger fruit, so I reckon it is probably that, but that species is extremely rare in British Columbia, so I wonder if it is also rare in adjacent coastal areas of Washington. If you have pictures of the fruit, leaves, or flowers, that would help.

COASTAL MANROOT

enter image description here [source: oregonflora.org]

enter image description here [source: oregonflora.org]

enter image description here [source: science.halleyhosting.com]

WILD CUCUMBER

enter image description here [source: biolib.cz]

enter image description here [source: flora.nhm-wien.ac.at

Yewge
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    From whence comes the name "manroot", btw. Craycray. http://www.oregonflora.org/showimage.jpg?fieldphotonum=502-20 – Yewge May 16 '15 at 09:45
  • Thank you! It was a coastal manroot. Sorry I couldn't get a picture. – Opticow May 16 '15 at 19:59