A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 I give up, what is this plant?

Hey ya'll,

My neighbor is growing some type of vine along my fence. We are not on speaking terms, so I can't very well ask him what this is but I am getting ready to chop it down, on my side that is!:

At first I thought these were lemons, then limes. I had a brainstorm, ah Stephanie, just pull one down and open the creature.

I did that this morning only to find a milky substance oozing out. Not a lemon or lime, shucks.

Here's a pic. What is this mystery plant?

Does anyone know what this is?

oh, wow-- looks weird! It's a vine, right, not a tree? If it WAS a tree i'd have to say it looks a bit like a pear...

Could that be a passion fruit. They grow on vines. Did the plant have any blooms that you have seen?

That looks like a Pawpaw to me.

Hi badplanter,

It's a vine.

buzylady,
It doesn't appear to be a passion fruit. I had to "google" passion fruit to see what they look like. I haven't seen any blooms on the vine.

Thornins
Hmmm, Pawpaw. This gets more interesting as I go along. I also "googled" Pawpaw to see what that was. It's not a Pawpaw. It's definitely on a vine.

Hey ya'll. I've got an idea. Tomorrow I'm going to pick another one, slice it open, and snap a picture for everyone to see. As I said earlier, it has a milky substance to it. We'll see tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I only know this, because I was watching Emeril Live on Tuesday night. He used this fruit in a dish called shrimp and merliton casserole. They are more commonly called chayotes. I think I've seen them in the exotic fruit section of my local Kroger store. Chayote is the Spanish name, although, it is now cultivated world wide. I believe it was originally from South America. Merliton is what it's called in Louisiana (a cajun name) though Emeril says locally it's also called alligator pear.

If it's got milky sap, I say just be careful, almost everything I know that has milky sap is poisinous in some way...

I'm having second thoughts about my ID. I found some pictures of chayote plants this morning, and although the fruits look similar, the leaves do not. Also, chayote vines are said to have tendrils and look more like squash or melon vines to which they are related.

obywan59,
I didn't think it was a Merliton. Good guess though. A Merliton is a Louisiana veggie. I stuff Merlitons with italian bread crumbs and shrimp! Yummie!!!!

Kennyso,

Thanks for the heads up. Now I'm someone leary about opening this thing up, what do ya'll think? :rolleyes:

Try searching for info on Kiwi Vine. There are a number of varieties that might match up with your neighbors vine.

Hi TulsaRose

That's a good guess. I just "googled" kiwi vines. Nope. I think my pic is somewhat deceiving as I snappped it from beneath the vine and plant.

I will take more pics soon and post. I'll get the leaves and the fruit or whatever in question. I will also cut it open. Hopefully we will be able to figure out what this is! :rolleyes:
Stephanie

Others?

Hello,

I have chayotes and kiwis....but that definitely doesn't look like either.

There is a fruit here that resembles it though...Membrillo, but I don't know if it is a vine, and I don't usually buy them to eat so I don't really know what they are like inside: http://www.infojardin.com/Frutales/fichas/membrillo-membrillos.htm

Zapote also looks slightly like it. It is not something I would usually buy either though so I don't really know. They sell it at the supermarket but not often. Why don't you ask another neighbor that may be on speaking terms with both of you to ask him?

Good luck!

Hi Physicist

Thanks for your input!

I looked up Membrillo - nope

Zapote, neither

The neighbor on the other side does not talk to the neighbor either. The vines are only on my side as well.

As promised, here's another pic of the vine with whatever this is (fruit)



I cut the fruit(?) open. Here's a pic.


What is this mystery plant?

I've been following this too and i cant wait to find out what it is!!!!

Hey Penny in Ontario!

Hopefully we shall soon see. :rolleyes: Everyone, read above Penny's post for the latest in this mystery plant! I have included new pictures to the puzzle!

Can you give us an approximate size of that fruit?

I don't know what it is either, but I can't wait to find out---that is one strange looking fruit.

Are those thorns on the branches??

I believe it could be quince. It would have flowered very early in the spring.

Ack I have seen this fruit before...I cannot remember what the name is though...I am sorry I cannot recall the name of the plant(this is one of those things I am going to remember later and I will feel stupid)

Don't eat that fruit......

It may not be fruit.....


dodge

sure looks like it's quince...not sure which variety. could be the 'pineapple' one. the fruit turns yellow when it's ripe.

do you have a local extension office to take a bit of the plant (and the fruit) to for an id? check with your county about it.

it's probably quince tho...the fruit is generally used to make jam/jelly/marmalade. doesn't seem to be eaten raw.

Hey ya'll, here's an up-to-date on this mystery plant.

Tulsa rose,
Approximate size would be close to a large lemon or lime. When I first saw this hanging on my side, I assumed I'd have lemons or limes for my drinks! Not so though.

loz,
still a mystery!

melcon6,
There are no thorns on the vine that I can see. There are/were no flowers that I could see either. :rolleyes:

medon,
Wish you could recall the name of this fruit (?) If it comes to you, please post.

dodge,
hey!
I will not eat it for sure. I don't think it's fruit either. The inside really looks odd.

joclyn,
hi! I just "googled" quince, and I can't find a match. I looked at the "pineapple" and I know it's not that. Could possibly be quince but there were no match ups that I could see.

What is this mystery plant ya'll? Is it quince?

:rolleyes:

I was going to say the same thing at first too..
*but the leaves aren't matching at all*

Hi Stephanie,

I think your neighbor has a mature Creeping fig vine (Ficus pumila) .
Quoting from the Missouri Botanical Garden\'s plant finder site: And, just have a peek at this image of a split fruit.

What-cha think?

Yukkkkkkkkkkk

Not what I want to eat......

Looks odd.

dodge