Ask the Expert: What is it?
we have a crawling vine on our fence that looks like a maple leaf but has little white flowers and it has little cactus looking plums on it? grows really quickly. Deline

Coast Wild Cucumber

Marah fabaceus Seed Pod

Flower Shop Network‘s Plant Expert:
It looks like a member of the wild cucumber family which is the Marah genus.

I think this particular plant is a Marah fabaceus. It is commonly called California manroot, Coast wild cucumber, Manroot, wild cucumber and bigroot. The plant is found throughout California. Although the Marah genus can be found in various parts of the country, the Marah fabaceus is endemic (limited) to California alone.

It is consider a perennial vine and a herb.  The prickly fruit may resemble cucumbers, but is not edible. It has a very bitter taste.

Native Californians used this fruit medicinally. The Kumeyaay people use the crushed tubers of this plant to aid in fishing. They throw the crushed tubers in the water to immobilize the fish.

This plant identification was brought to you by the local florists in San Francisco.