Wild Cucumber

Echinocystis lobata

Pollinator Value

🐛 Larval Host: S14 Diaphania hyalinata recorded in USA only; no ON/QC-verified records

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5) and nationally secure in both Canada (N5) and the United States (N5). Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Ranked S5 in Ontario and S4 in Quebec by NatureServe. Common in the Ottawa-Hull area per both historical (1978) and modern (2005) floras.
S22 S26
Rarity Ranks: QC S4 – Apparently Secure, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: A vigorous annual climbing vine of riparian corridors, floodplains, and moist thickets. Commonly found scrambling over shrubs and fences along stream banks, forest edges, and wet disturbed ground. Thrives in rich, moist soils and plays a pioneer role colonizing open floodplain habitats. Common throughout the Ottawa-Gatineau region on both sides of the river.
S7 S61 S62 S63

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [MEDIUM]: S68 4 bee associations (threshold=3)]

Category: Analgesic, Antirheumatic, Febrifuge, Tonic, Gastrointestinal Aid
S28 S29
Notes: Extensively used in Indigenous medicine. The Menominee considered wild cucumber 'the greatest of all medicines' and always useful. Root poultice applied for headaches by Menominee and Meskwaki peoples. Bitter root tea used as tonic for stomach troubles (Ojibwa), kidney ailments, rheumatism, chills, and fevers (Cherokee). Also employed as love medicine (Menominee) and abortifacient for obstructed menses (Cherokee).
S28 S29 S61

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: Not edible despite the common name. The fruit is greatly inflated and watery, opening irregularly at the apex to release seeds; the contents are mostly air and wholly unsubstantial. PFAF assigns an edibility rating of 0 out of 5.
S7 S29 S46