Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Share

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Apodanthera undulata

Apodanthera undulata A. Gray

Melon Loco

Cucurbitaceae (Cucumber Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: APUN

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

A malodorous, grayish, hairy plant with long, coarse, prostrate stems bearing tendrils, kidney-shaped leaf blades, and yellow, funnel-shaped flowers. The mature melons are green and have raised, longitudinal ridges.

The melons taste so bad you would have to be loco to eat one.

 

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Vine
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Fruit Type: Pepo
Size Notes: Trailing up to 10 feet.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep

Distribution

USA: AZ , NM , TX
Native Distribution: Southern Arizona east to western Texas and south to Mexico.
Native Habitat: Sand dunes, gravelly flats, grasslands, and roadsides.

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry

Benefit

Warning: Plants with the word loco ("crazy") in their common names are usually poisonous to some degree, and should not be ingested by humans or animals; several contain behavior-altering toxins.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Apodanthera undulata in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Apodanthera undulata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Apodanthera undulata

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-05-31
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back