Cucurbita palmata

Coyote melon, Coyote Melon

Family: Cucurbitaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Coyote melon is a California native perennial found in the Central Valley, Central West, southwestern California, and desert regions in sandy places at elevations below 1,300 meters. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces large yellow flowers approximately 6 to 8 centimeters wide. Growing with scabrous herbage and branched tendrils, it develops sprawling vines with distinctive gray-green leaves. Its palmately lobed leaves have five segments, with the terminal lobes triangular and generally entire, and main veins appearing whitish against the gray-green background. The spheric fruit grows 8 to 9 centimeters wide, appearing dull green and mottled with obscure white stripes.

Habitat: Sandy places

Bloom period: Apr-Sep

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: SnJV, CW, SW, D

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Imperial, Inyo, Tulare, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Ventura, Fresno, Kings, Alameda, Madera, Stanislaus, Santa Barbara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.