Cucumbers gone wild

Jill Severn portrait

Who knew there are wild cucumbers growing in Western Washington? Apparently, a lot of people knew, and now we do too.

Variously known as Bigroot, Manroot, or Old-man-in-the-ground, wild cucumbers are abundant in Cape Disappointment State Park, in our state’s southwest corner. They are an arresting sight: they look like squash plants, clambering up roadside and trailside embankments on top of sword ferns, elderberry shrubs and anything else their tendrils can hang onto and climb.

They are native and, therefore, not classified as invasive. However, the Cowlitz County Noxious Weed Control Board nonetheless offers a full page of ways to eradicate them because they grow so aggressively that they can be troublesome to farmers and gardeners.

They are also poisonous, so don’t eat them. And don’t eat their roots either.

If their roots were edible though, they could feed a lot of people. They’re huge tubers – so huge they earned the name “Old-man-in-the-ground.” One was found to weigh 476 pounds.

Wild cucumbers have a clever trick for reproduction: as the cucumbers ripen, they begin to ferment inside, creating pressure that causes them to explode, which can shoot seeds up to 20 feet away.

A different species of wild cucumbers, Echinocystis lobata, grows in Eastern Washington. It was imported from the East Coast, its native range.

A third species, Ecballium elaterium, is native to the Mediterranean region, and known as “squirting cucumber” and sometimes “crazy cucumber.” It was introduced more widely as a garden curiosity. Imagine a garden party where a guest gets hit in the eye by a flying cucumber seed! Curious indeed.

All three species are poisonous, but that hasn’t stopped herbalists from using plant material from the Ecballium species, which one website claims (without evidence) have been used in “traditional” medicine for malaria, hepatitis, liver and kidney diseases, edema and watery diseases, hemorrhoids, gout and rheumatism, intestinal pain and cramps, diarrhea and amenorrhea. In small doses, cucumber helps with sinusitis, skin ulcers, open sores on the skin, problems with fungus on the legs and body.”

If all that were true, it would still not be enough to counter the cold hard fact that ingesting this plant can be fatal. So although herbalist’s website cautions that “Taking traditional medicine can only be done under the supervision of the herbalist who prescribes it,” any herbalist who prescribes it should be fired.

We have plenty of tame cucumbers that have real nutritional value. In fact, in a grocery store conversation with TJ Johnson, the proprietor of our local Urban Futures Farm, he reported a bumper crop of cucumbers. Farmers Markets are teeming with them right now.

So . . . enjoy this summer bounty of tame cucumbers, and plan a trip to Cape Flattery to visit their wild cousins just to feed your sense of wonder.

Jill Severn writes from her home in Olympia, where she grows vegetables, flowers, and a small flock of chickens. She loves conversation among gardeners. Start one by emailing her at  jill@theJOLTnews.com