Finger-leaf Gourd
Cucurbita palmata
Photographed at Joshua Tree National Park, California, May 2010.
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 palmately five-lobes. The pale veins contrast sharply
with the dark green leaf color.
RANGE: Sonoran Desert in western Arizona and California. It tends to
favor sites with deep soil that are occasionally saturated during the winter
rains.
FRUIT: A spherical gourd. Paler variegated stripes on darker green as
the gourd matures to yellow-brown.
FLOWERS: Tubular yellow flowers open briefly with five-pointed corolla.
Separate male and female flowers are borne on the same vine. Mid to late spring
is flowering period.
UNARMED.