Creeping Cucumber as seen growing across pine straw is pretty and can in theory be used as a ground cover. 
The ripe fruits as you can see are so dark green they appear pretty much black. You don't want to eat these unless you're backed up or something. Reports of them being flat poisonous aren't fully verified. 
Note how the unripe fruit kind of resemble little watermelons, these are the ones you want to harvest for eating.
Common Name: Creeping Cucumber
Other Common Names: Guadeloupe Cucumber, Meloncito, Speckled Gourd
Botanical Family: Cucurbitaceae (The Cucumber Family)
Botanical Latin Name: Melothria pendula
Description & Habitat: The Creeping Cucumber is a native perennial vine that is commonly found on the edges of marshes, by the roadside where sandy soil is present, in low woodlands, near parking lot bushes and of course in some gardens. The specimen photographed was found within the PWC facility in Fayetteville NC doing exactly what one might expect it to do; growing up a Cypress bush near a parking area. You can expect to encounter these vines in places with some soil disturbance and they may even be accidentally brought in with potted shrubs.
When & What to Harvest: The fruit of this native species of cucurbit is edible however you want to harvest the tiny fruits when they are green and not once they have ripened and turned dark green. The ripe fruit are so dark green they appear to be black and at that stage may have a strong laxative effect which might be useful as a medicine. In the green unripe form the fruits have a patterning that makes them almost resemble miniature watermelons; they have a tart cucumber kind of flavor.
Poisonous Lookalikes: none
Related Edible Species: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus), Mexican Sour Gherkin (Melothria scabra).
Recipe: All credible references point to using the green fruit as a snack or putting them in salads raw like one might do with cherry tomatoes.
Additional Information: (If applicable)
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/melothria-pendula/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melothria_pendula
https://www.eattheweeds.com/creeping-cucumber-melothria-pendula/
With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but my booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. In addition to being able to process card payments we now take CashApp payments so your payment options for my product have tripled. With that said; if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic fruit, herbs, flowers and perennials, come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.
For those of you wondering what plants are going to be at the market this weekend here is the list.
Fresh Foods:
Blueberries, Rabbiteye – 12 ounces
Blueberries, Rabbiteye – 8 ounces
Figs, Mixed* – 16 ounces
Figs, Mixed* – 8 ounces
Tomatoes, Cherry Blend – 12 ounces
*Figs will be a mix of what is currently ripe; they might be White Ischia, Chicago Hardy, Celeste, Magnolia, Kadota, Brown Turkey or Petit Nigra.
Soil Amendment Products (New!)
Live Mushroom Compost – 3 Gallon Bag
Live Mushroom Compost – 1 Gallon Bag
Garden Plants, Perennial
Cutleaf Coneflower
Spineless Prickly Pear
Spanish Bayonet
Garden Plants, Annual
Marigold, Naughty Marietta – Yellow
Marigold, Naughty Marietta – Orange
Madagascar Periwinkle, Blackberry
Madagascar Periwinkle, Cranberry
Zinnia, All American Mix
Coming Soon:
American Aloe
How to stay in Contact with Us!
Our group’s online presence has migrated to Nextdoor.com. All you need to keep up with all our activities is to have a Nextdoor account and to look for the ‘Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville’ group and ask to join! You don’t have to live in Fayetteville to join us! Feel free to ask all your garden questions of our knowledgeable membership and post your cool garden pictures.
Sustainable Neighbors of Fayetteville
Also please take a gander at the YouTube version of this blog:
The Videos: Look Here
>Newest videos (1): Little Brown Jugs
Meetings are still going on! Our next (unofficial) meeting is July 20th at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Franklin Street between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm.
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