The wild cucumber plant belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, but is poisonous. It's called "cucumber" because of its resemblance to the vegetable, and "wild cucumber" because of its ability to dance and release seeds containing a slimy liquid when its shell is ruptured.
We have a lot of these vines growing behind our house. They twine around all the trees and shrubs, even creeping along the ground if there are no other plants nearby.
These are the cool fruits this plant produced in July and August:
And at the end of September they are already ripe:
And this is what a crazy cucumber looks like in cross-section:
The leaves resemble hops and grapes:
The plant clings to other crops with spiral elements like these:
The crazy cucumber has other names: echinocystis, hedgehog bladder, and thorny scaly. I live in central Russia, so it's surprising that it grows here. Because it prefers a warmer climate.
It grows in absolutely any soil, even rocky, but does not tolerate highly acidic soil.
It really loves swampy areas – this is probably the reason why it is located behind our house (thank God, far behind the house), because the groundwater here is at a depth of 50-70 cm.
The vine grows up to 5-6 m, is considered annual, but quickly spreads across the territory due to the spitting of seeds.
The roots are very strong, making it very difficult to eradicate. However, many grow the prickly pear specifically as a decorative ornament near fences, houses, etc. The plant looks especially beautiful when in bloom—the white flowers resemble moths. Read more about the benefits and harms of this plant. here.
An interesting plant, very similar to a chestnut)) Or another strange plant - anguriaBy the way, anguria is also called a cucumber, only with horns.