Finger-leaf Gourd
Cucurbita digitata
Photographed in the Wickenburg Mts., Yavapai Co., Arizona. September 2008.
VINE: Herbaceous vine which may ascend into trees or shrubs or else
trail along the ground with branched tendrils latching onto supports. Stems may
reach several meters in length.
LEAVES: Leaves are narrowly divided into five or so palmately arranged
lobes. The variegated paler centers are attractive.
RANGE: Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico
mostly adjacent to washes and riparian habitats. Also at roadsides which get
extra runoff from the pavement. Generally not common and then visible only after summer rains when most of growth and flowering occurs.
FRUIT: A spherical to oblong gourd. Paler variegated stripes on darker
green as the gourd matures to yellow-brown.
FLOWERS: Tubular flowers open briefly with five-pointed corolla and
yellow-brown color. Separate male and female flowers are borne on the same
vine. Late summer is flowering period.
UNARMED. Hairs on stems and calyces are stiff and may be a little prickly to
the touch.