Life Span
Annual
Perennial
Type
Vegetable
Flowering Plants, Succulent
Origin
Central America, Mexico
Southeastern United States
Types
Slicing, Pickling and burpless
Golden Sword, Ivory Tower, Color Guard
Number of Varieties
315
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
Floodplains, Wet forest
Dry areas, Hot climate regions
USDA Hardiness Zone
7-84-10
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
12-1
-
Sunset Zone
A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Habit
Vining/Climbing
Clump-Forming
Plant Size
Minimum Height
15.20 cm45.00 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
180.00 cm60.00 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Gold
White
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
Bicolor
Fruit Color
Green
-
Leaf Color in Spring
Light Green
Green
Leaf Color in Summer
Green, Dark Green
Green
Leaf Color in Fall
Green, Dark Green, Yellow green
Green, Several shades of Green
Leaf Color in Winter
-
Green
Shape
Leaf Shape
Heart-shaped
Long Linear
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Summer, Fall
Spring
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth Rate
Very Fast
Slow
Type of Soil
Loam
Loam, Sand
The pH of Soil
Neutral
Neutral, Slightly Acidic, Slightly Alkaline
Soil Drainage
Well drained
Well drained
Bloom Time
Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall, Indeterminate
Early Summer, Late Summer, Summer
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
Drought
Drought
Where to Plant?
Container, Ground
Container, Ground
How to Plant?
Seedlings, Stem Planting
Seedlings
Plant Maintenance
Medium
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Keep ground moist, Requires a lot of watering, Requires regular watering, Requires watering in the growing season
Do not let dry out between waterings
In Summer
Lots of watering
Lots of watering
In Spring
Moderate
Moderate
In Winter
Average Water
Average Water
Soil
Soil pH
Neutral
-
Soil Type
Loam
-
Soil Drainage Capacity
Well drained
Well drained
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Pruning
Prune after flowering, Remove shoots
Prune if you want to improve plant shape, Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead or diseased plant parts
Fertilizers
Compost, organic fertlizers
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer, Do not let fertilizers touch the leaves, Less fertilizing
Pests and Diseases
Bacteria wilt, Fungal Diseases, fungus, Fusarium wilt, Leaf spot, Striped cucumber beetles
Bacterial Blight, Botrytis Blight, Leaf spot
Plant Tolerance
Cold climate
Drought
Flowers
✔
✘
✔
✘
Flower Petal Number
Single
Single, Double
Fruits
Showy Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Edible Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrance
Fragrant Flower
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Leaf
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Bark/Stem
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Foliage
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Bark
✔
✘
✔
✘
Foliage Texture
Coarse
Fine
Foliage Sheen
Matte
Glossy
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Ants, Birds, Flying insects, Insects, Rats, Squirrels
Birds, Butterflies, Flies
Allergy
Throat itching, Vomiting
-
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
Showy Purposes
Showy Purposes
Beauty Benefits
-
-
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Food for animals, Food for birds
Air purification
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Antioxidants, Combats Stress, Fiber, Improve heart health, Indigestion, Inflammation, Rich in Iron
-
Part of Plant Used
Fruits, Seeds
Flowers, Root
Other Uses
Used As Food, Used as Ornamental plant, Used for its medicinal properties
Decoration Purposes
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
Edible, Herb / Vegetable, Vine
Container, Cottage garden
Botanical Name
MELOTHRIA scabra
Yucca filamentosa
Common Name
Mexican Sour Gherkins, cucamelon
Adam's needle, common yucca, Spanish bayonet, bear-grass, needle-palm, silk-grass, and spoon-leaf yucca
In Hindi
Mousemelon
Adam's needle
In German
Maus Melone
Fädige Palmlilie
In French
Mousemelon
Yucca filamentosa
In Spanish
Mousemelon
Yucca filamentosa
In Greek
πεπόνι ποντίκι
Adam's Needle
In Portuguese
melão rato
Adam's Needle
In Polish
mysz melona
Jukka karolińska
In Latin
mouse melon
Adam's Needle
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Liliopsida
Order
Cucurbitales
Liliales
Family
Cucurbitaceae
Agavaceae
Genus
Cucumis
Yucca
Clade
Angiosperms, Eudicots, Rosids
Angiosperms, Monocots
Tribe
Melothrieae
-
Subfamily
Cucurbitoideae
Agavoideae
Number of Species
5030
1
27800
👆🏻