[Wildflowers with 5 Petals East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]

The Cucumber or Gourd Family East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington

Cucurbitaceae

Bigroot, Coastal Manroot, Manroot, Old Man-in-the-ground, Oregon Bigroot, Wild Cucumber: Marah oregana (Synonym: Echinocystis oregana, Marah oreganus)

Manroot: Marah oreganus

Members of the Cucumber Family Found East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington:

White Bryony: Bryonia alba

Balsam Apple, Wild Balsam Apple, Wild Cucumber: Echinocystis lobata - Annual. Flowers with 6 floral parts. A viny, climbing plant with palmately, 5-lobed leaves. The lobes are triangular-acute in outline and incised about 1/2 the diamter of the blade. Weedy species from the eastern US that has been introduced to eastern Oregon and Washington.

Bigroot, Coastal Manroot, Manroot, Old Man-in-the-ground, Oregon Bigroot, Wild Cucumber: Marah oregana (Synonym: Echinocystis oregana, Marah oreganus) - Perennial. Viny plant that grows along ground or climbs into trees with many spiralled tendrils. Leaves simple and palmate, with small 5-8 petaled flowers arising in loose spikes from the vines. Fruit is like a spiny cucumber or squash. This plant is found east of the Cascades primarily near the Columbia and Snake Rivers as far as the Oregon-Idaho border.


Paul Slichter E-mail