PlantFiles: California Manroot, Wild Cucumber, Bigroot
Marah fabaceus

This plant grows wild in the foothills and chaparal areas of Southern California. It is lovely to see in its natural habitat, but due to its invasive nature and poisonous seeds I would hardly recommend it for garden culture.

The common name "manroot" is in reference to the size of its taproot which can be quite massive on mature plants; some report uncovering roots as large as a human body.

My mother in Cleveland, OH has a plant similiar to this growing in her yard ... on it's own, of course. It is an interesting vine.

The difference between what is growing in my mother's yard and what is listed on the Plants Database is the the fruits are much smaller and grow in small clumps/groups of 5 to 7 ... each no larger than a pumpkin seed. The fruits are basically the seeds covered with a thin skin. Very prickly, too!

It dies, completely, in the winter (zone6 - 5a-b), yet self sows reliably. Though it can be a nasty and invasive resident in the garden, I like it for it's rapid growth ... forming a screen to block unsightly views ... which is how it is being used in my mother's yard. It is easy to control because it is quickly identifiable and easy to pull out of the ground ... as a seedling or as a rampant, mature plant.

Please wear gloves when removing the vines because the small spines on it's fruit clusters are irritating.

This plant once established will climb to the top of trees and can smother out all other plants. All parts of the plant are poisonous although it is believed to have some medicinal qualities. Extremely bitter it is unlikely to be eaten however the fruit does look like lemon cucumbers which may tempt some people or children to taste it.