Apodanthera undulata, Melon Loco
Scientific Name: Apodanthera undulata
Common Name: Melon Loco
Also Called: Melon-loco; (Spanish: Melón Loco)
Family: Cucurbitaceae, Cucumber or Gourd Family
Synonyms: ()
Status: Native.
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 8 feet or more, spreading vine.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; pubescent vine; stems with tendrils growing along ground (prostrate), large root; herbage pubescence.
Leaves: Green; gray-green; pubescent, alternate, large showy leaves, kidney or reniform shaped leaves, margins undulate or wavy.
Flower Color: Yellow; showy and large; funnelform or tube shaped, monecious with male and female flowers on same plants, fruit is a gourd, mostly oval with raised parallel longitudinal ridges along the hard outer shell.
Flowering Season: June to September, earlier in Texas where they bloom from May through September.
Elevation: 1,500 to 5,500 feet.
Habitat Preferences: Dry washes and rivers, plains and mesas.
Recorded Range: Apodanthera undulata is rare in North America where it occurs in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It is also found in northern and central Mexico.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Apodanthera undulata.
U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.
Comments: Melon Loco has a showy yellow flower and a foul or otherwise disagreeable odor.