photo by Greg Hofmann

4/5/2004: This native vine (Marah fabaceous) is known variously as Wild Cucumber, Balsam-apple (the spiky, apple-sized fruit is poisonous), and California Manroot (its tubers can be four to eight feet long in mature plants). These vines can grow to 30 feet and can overwhelm nearby vegetation. It grows in fields, by streams, and, on the Reserve, by the South Marsh Loop Trail.