This plant started randomly growing in our backyard in Texas. We are wondering what it is and if it's safe to eat
by MushrumiDog
This plant started randomly growing in our backyard in Texas. We are wondering what it is and if it's safe to eat
by MushrumiDog
12 Comments
Looks like a gift from a bird or a squirrel. Maybe a lemon cucumber or some kinda squash. It’s certainly a cucurbit; and they readily cross pollinate with each other and they don’t always produce good (tastily edible) fruits
Lemon cucumbers maybe. They are tasty!
cucumis melo var. texanus
Just here to say hi to that Rottweiler in the background. Good dog 10/10
Lemon cucumbers. Yum!
Muskmelon, [Cucumis melo](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=18&quality_grade=research&taxon_id=76538).
Yummy lemon cucumber or yellow cucumber. Used in south Asian cuisines. The skin is hardish and the core is soft yellow. There is a bunch of seeds. Scrape the skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and discard the seeds. Use it as part of a salad or make a nice pickle with salt, seasoning and paprika. Goes well with many breads or rice. Lucky you.
Looks like a lemon cucumber. They’re fairly small & mostly round.
Lemon cucumbers. I grew these on purpose and they are delicious.
People are pointing to an edible thing however, given the unintentional nature of this plant, I’d be worried it’s some squash hybrid and it’s actually somewhat toxic.
More info here: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-extension/featured/are-volunteer-squash-toxic
I’ve seen something like that in northwest Texas and heard it called buffalo gourd. Fruits aren’t edible, but supposedly people used to boil the starchy roots for days and then eat them (obviously don’t try this lol)
Looks like what we call Dosakaya in Telugu, it’s a type of cucumber