Sicyos angulatus
| Sicyos angulatus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 26' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Sicyos angulatus (common name: bur cucumber)
Propagation: Seed - sow in mid spring in a greenhouse. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle. Make sure the compost is fairly rich and grow the plants fast. Plant them out after the last expected frosts and consider giving them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away actively.
The seed can also be sown in situ in late spring, though this sowing might not produce mature seeds and fruit in cool summers. Plants have self-sown in Cornwall.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a sunny position in a moderately fertile soil.
The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
A very fast growing plant, capable of producing shoots up to 8 metres long in the first year from seed. The plant can be grown to provide a summer screen[1].
This species occasionally self-sows[K].
Range: Eastern N. America - Quebec and Ontario to Florida, west to South Dakota, Kansas and Texas.
Habitat: River banks and damp yards[2].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[3][4][5]. They can be cooked as greens[6].
The fruit is said to be edible[3][5]. Possibly the seed is edible but there is no flesh on the fruit, it is just a bristly skin around the seed[K]. The fruit is about 1cm long and is borne in small clusters[1].
Medicinal: A decoction of the vine has been used in the treatment of venereal disease[7].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Crowe, Andrew. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.