Cucumis dipsaceus Ehrenb. ex Spach, Cucurbitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: hedgehog cucumber, hedgehog gourd, teasel gourd, tiger's egg, wild spiny cucumber

French: concombre bardane, concombre porte-soies

Spanish: calabacilla, comida del zorro, friega-mata, huevo de tigre, jabonillo, pepino diablito

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stems up to several m long, hispid.  Leaves cordate, reniform to broadly ovate with a basal sinus, blades 2-8 cm long, 3-9 cm wide, sometimes shallowly 3-lobed, both surfaces hispid, margins denticulate, apex obtuse, petioles 2-10 cm long.  Staminate flowers solitary or in clusters of 2-4, pedicels 6-12 mm long, calyx lobes linear, 2-3 mm long, corolla lobes yellow, 7-12 mm long; pistillate flowers solitary, sometimes co-axillary with staminate flowers, pedicels 2-6 mm long, hypanthium 6-10 mm long, hispid.  Fruit yellow, subglobose to ellipsoid, 2-7 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm in diameter, densely and softly spiny or bristly, spines slender, 3-8 mm long, pulp green.  Seeds very pale brown, 3-5 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 570).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "widely naturalized in dry, disturbed sites, 0-400 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 570). Arid lowlands in the Galápagos Islands (McMullen, 1999; p. 308).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Eastern Africa (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 570).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Española Group	Española Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wysong, Michael/Hughes, Guy/Wood, K. R. (2007) (p. 4) Voucher cited: Wysong 753 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Ni‘ihau Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 570) Voucher cited: Bryan s.n. (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 234)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 234)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Cucumis dipsaceus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Cucumis dipsaceus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Cucumis dipsaceus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Cardenas, Juan/Reys, Carlos E./Doll, Jerry D./Pardo, Fernando. 1972. Tropical weeds; malezas tropicales, vol. 1. International Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 341 pp.

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

McMullen, C. K. 1999. Flowering plants of the Galápagos. Comstock Pub. Assoc., Ithaca, N.Y. 370 p.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Wysong, Michael/Hughes, Guy/Wood, K. R. 2007. New Hawaiian plant records for the island of Moloka‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:1-8.