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Melothria pendula L.
Creeping-cucumber

Melothria pendula
Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Group: Dicot

Substrate: Terrestrial

Habit: Vine

Perennation: Perennial

Native Range: Eastern and central United States, the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.

Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida

IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status: Secure

SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence: Present

SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status: Native

SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status: Cultivated

Synonyms: M. crassifolia.

Other data on Melothria pendula available from :

Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Melothria pendula has been found in the following 109 conservation areas :
Occurrence Native Status
Alice C. Wainwright Park Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Babcock Ranch Preserve Present Native
Big and Little George Hammocks Present Native
Big Cypress National Preserve Present Native
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Present Native
Bill Sadowski Park Present Native
Biscayne National Park Present Native
Black Creek Forest Present Native
Blowing Rocks Preserve Present Native
Bocilla Preserve Present Native
Bonair Beach Parcel, Martin County Present Native
Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve Present Native
Camp Owaissa Bauer Present Native
Cape Romano - Ten Thousand Islands Aquatic Preserve Present Native
Castellow Hammock Park Present Native
Cayo Costa State Park Present Native
Chapman Field Park Present Native
Collier-Seminole State Park Present Native
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Present Native
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Present Native
County Line Scrub, Miami-Dade County Present Native
Crandon Park Present Native
Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammocks Botanical State Park Reported
Deering Estate at Cutler Present Native
Delray Beach, Lake Ida parcel Present Native
Delray Oaks Natural Area Present Native
Doris Davis Forman Wilderness Preserve Natural Area Present Native
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park Present Native
Dupuis Reserve Present Native
Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Everglades National Park Present Native
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Present Native
Fern Forest Nature Center Present Native
Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Florida City Pineland Present Native
Frenchman's Forest Natural Area Present Native
Frog Pond/L-31 N Transition Lands Present Native
Gulfstream Park Present Native
Harden Hammock Present Native
Hattie Bauer Hammock Present Native
Highland Oaks Park Present Native
Hillsboro Pineland Natural Area Present Native
Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Holey Land Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Present Native
J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park Present Native
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Reported
Jonathan Dickinson State Park Present Native
Juno Dunes Natural Area Present Native
Jupiter Ridge Natural Area Present Native
Kendall Indian Hammocks Park Present Native
Kendalwood Present Native
Lake Okeechobee Marshes Present Native
Lake Okeechobee Ridge Present Native
Larry and Penny Thompson Park Present Native
Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center Present Native
Loveland Hammock Present Native
Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area Present Native
Lucille Hammock Present Native
Ludlam Pineland Present Native
Mangrove Preserve Present Native
Matheson Hammock Park Present Native
Medlock Pineland Present Native
Military Trail Natural Area Present Native
Milton E. Thompson Park Present Native
Muscara Present Native
National Key Deer Refuge Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Navy Wells Pineland 23 Present Native
Nicodemus Slough Present Native
Nixon Smiley Pineland Preserve Present Native
Ocean Ridge Hammock Park Present Native
Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area - FWC, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Oleta River State Park Present Native
Palm Drive Pineland Present Native
Peck Lake Park Present Native
Picayune Strand State Forest Present Native
Pine Island Ridge Natural Area Present Native
Pine Ridge Sanctuary Present Native
Pond Apple Slough Natural Area Present Native
Prairie Pines Preserve Present Native
R. Hardy Matheson Preserve Present Native
Red Reef Park, including Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Present Native
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Present Native
Savannas Preserve State Park Present Native
Seabranch Preserve State Park Present Native
Secret Woods Nature Center Present Native
Sewell Park Present Native
Simpson Park Present Native
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Present Native
SOCSOUTH Present Native
South Beach Park Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park Present Native
Stump Pass Beach State Park Present Native
Tall Cypress Natural Area Present Native
Tamarind Private Dune Present Native
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Tilton Present Native
Tree Island Park Present Native
Tree Tops Park Present Native
Virginia Key Beach Park and Marine Stadium Present Native
Warbler Wetland Natural Area Present Native
West Lake Park/Anne Kolb Nature Center Present Native
Wild Turkey Strand Preserve Present Native
Woodmont Natural Area Present Native
Yamato Scrub Natural Area Present Native

Melothria pendula has been found in the following 11 counties :
Occurrence Native Status
Broward County Native
Charlotte County Native
Collier County Native
Glades County Native
Hendry County Native
Lee County Native
Martin County Native
Miami-Dade County Native
Monroe County (Keys) Native
Monroe County (Mainland) Native
Palm Beach County Native

Melothria pendula has been found in the following 17 habitats :
Alluvial Forest
Bayhead
Coastal Berm
Coastal Grassland
Coastal Strand
Disturbed Upland
Disturbed Wetland
Dome Swamp
Hydric Hammock
Maritime Hammock
Marl Prairie
Mesic Flatwoods
Mesic Hammock
Pine Rockland
Prairie Hammock
Rockland Hammock
Shell Mound

All Images:

Melothria pendula
Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer
Melothria pendula
Copyright by: James Johnson, 2014
In habitat, Hillsboro Pineland Natural Area, Broward County, Florida
Melothria pendula
Copyright by: Jay Horn via iNaturalist.
Melothria pendula
Copyright by: Joe Montes de Oca via iNaturalist