The Curious Creeping Cucumber

ne day, I happened upon a sweeping vine covering some bamboo in my Texas backyard. The vine certainly wasn’t planted intentionally, although the strain on the bamboo canes wasn’t a problem, as they’d been a thorn in my side for quite some time. Some confusion and curiosity ensued as I attempted to identify this interesting plant. How did the vine make it to my backyard? Potential hypotheses about its origins involved it escaping from a neighboring yard, and the possibility that seeds left in the ground were suddenly activated by the freeze and nitrogen-rich precipitation from the winter storm we experienced in February 2021. Whatever the case, I eventually confirmed that the mysterious vine was creeping