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Fivelobe Cucumber

Cayaponia quinqueloba

Found in swamp forests, river banks, hammocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

8
Modest

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial
Bloom
June to November

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 16 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 80 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

0CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cucurbitaceae
Flower color
White, yellow or green

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Cayaponia boykinii; Five Lobe Cucumber; Melonleaf

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG4
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources