Family: Gourd (Cucurbitaceae)

Description: Slender, herbaceous, annual or short-lived perennial vine with ill-smelling leaves. The leaves are alternate and divided into 5-7 lobes. The solitary, 3/4 inch yellow flowers have 5 petals. The fruit average 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide with orange, warty skin, splitting open to reveal seeds encased in a red, sticky aril.

Blooms: All year

Found: Hammocks, pinelands, and disturbed sites of central and southern Florida. Native to the Old World tropics.

Comment: The red aril is safe to eat but the seeds and skin of ripe fruit are poisonous and can be fatal to dogs. The unripe fruit are soaked in salt water then cooked as a vegatable in Asia and the Caribbean. A bitter tea made from the leaves is highly regarded as a remedy for influenza.