Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

DONATE TODAY

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
2 ratings

Friday - May 02, 2008

From: Honolulu, HI
Region: Hawaii
Topic: Vines
Title: Identification of vine with white flower and \
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

I have a vine intruding from my neighbors yard that has small white blooms on them (similar to morning glories) and on the stem of the flower below the bloom, a "tiny watermelon" is growing..... It is green with light stripes. I was wondering if anyone knew what the name of it was? And if so, are the 'watermelons' fit to eat? Thanks so much in advance

ANSWER:

Your description of the fruit sounds like something in the Family Cucurbitaceae (Cucumber Family). Here is a list of members of that family that have been reported in Hawaii. Take a look at Coccinea grandis, especially these images that occur on Google.  According to this website the fruit of C. grandis is used in curries and other Indian dishes. If you don't see the plant you describe in any of these pictures, send us a photo and we'll try to identify it from its image. The instructions for submitting photos can be found on the Ask Mr. Smarty Plants page in the lower right corner under "Plant Identification."

 
 

More Vines Questions

Identity of a thorny vine in Florida
June 02, 2009 - Area: panhandle of FL Problem: thorny vine with large potato like roots, rapid growing and very invasive. grows in summer time. thanks
view the full question and answer

Inducing flowering on vines
August 27, 2008 - My daughter presented me with a lovely Passiflora coccinea a few months ago. It is growing marvelously in full sun at the base of a pine tree. I'm wondering, though, if I were to limit the amount o...
view the full question and answer

Identity of vine growing in Kentucky.
August 11, 2013 - I have a vine I can't identify. The leaf is heart shaped and the vine is fuzzy. The blooms is just now starting to bloom. They are small red and some white in it. The bloom sort of remind you of a c...
view the full question and answer

Need a native vine to grow on a fence next to a horse pasture in Kerrville, TX.
May 01, 2013 - I have a wooden fence between my yard and the horse pasture. I would like to plant a native Texas vine (grapevine, honeysuckle, etc.) to cover the fence that will be evergreen and showy, but one that ...
view the full question and answer

Information about the wormvine orchid, Vanilla barbellata
November 27, 2007 - Hi My name is Santiago I'm from Puerto Rico and discover this Vanilla orchid in the forest, this orchid is V. barbellata var. alba? You have some information of how identify the V. barbe...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.