Bur-cucumber (Sicyos angulatus) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Bur-cucumber is a fast-growing vine native to eastern North America that grows along stream banks, in thickets, and on disturbed ground. Its broad, shallowly lobed leaves and tight clusters of small prickly fruits make it easier to recognize late in the season.

Appearance

Appearance: The rough, hairy leaves are broad and usually shallowly divided into three to five lobes. The flowers are white to greenish white, and the fruits form compact bristly clusters.
Growth form: This climbs or trails by branched and can reach about 20 ft (6 m).
Flowers: Male and female flowers grow in separate clusters on the same plant.
Flowering time: In the eastern United States, it flowers mainly from June through October, occasionally into November.
Fruit: Each small, beaked fruit is about 0.35–0.6 in (9–15 mm) long and holds one seed.

Look-alikes

Prickly cucumberEchinocystis lobata

Prickly cucumber has much more deeply cut leaves and one large, inflated prickly fruit. Bur-cucumber has broader, shallowly lobed leaves and clusters of much smaller fruits.

Why they get mixed upBoth are annual native vines with tendrils, pale flowers, and prickly fruits.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: stream banks
floodplains
thickets and field edges
Range: It is native across much of the eastern United States and parts of eastern Canada.
Preferred conditions: It grows in moist ground as well as disturbed woods, clearings, vacant lots, fallow fields, and railroad banks.
Flowering: Flowers Jun–Oct
Flowers Jun–Oct

Life cycle

Reproduction: It reproduces by seed and completes its life cycle in one growing season.

Name and classification

About the name: It is also called oneseed bur cucumber.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: Indiana and Delaware officially list it as a noxious weed (a harmful weed).

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