Looks like a squash or a cucumber blossom, doesn't it? This is a wild buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) that blooms on a low rocky ridge in our east meadow, here in the Texas Hill Country. The genus name tells the story, grouping this plant with squashes and cucumbers. The species name exactly describes the smell of the crushed leaves: fetid. Like sour tennis shoes left out in the rain and sun. Eeuw.
The mature fruit is too bitter to eat, but the bees absolutely adore it, and therein lies my problem. Because this plant (which covers an area the size of a garage) is within a half-mile of the garden, I have to think about this when I'm saving seeds. The same bees that pollinate this beauty also pollinate my zukes, cukes, and winter squash. I don't want to destroy the buffalo gourd (another time, I'll tell you about its name), so I don't try to save the Cucurbita seed in my garden. If the buffalo gourd cross-pollinated the garden plants, the resulting fruits might be so bitter we couldn't eat them. A reminder to me that my garden doesn't exist in a vaccuum: it's part of the local ecosystem. What goes around (literally) comes around. There's no such thing as safe sex for plants. Do you know where your bees have been?
My solution (not original with me): wait until the buffalo gourd has stopped blooming, then save my seeds, observing other good seed-saving practices. You'll find a helpful article here.
The Austin library (Spicewood Springs) event last night was great fun--thanks to all who came, and to the library staff (Monica, Kay, others) who put together the luscious food. Sold lots of books for Story Circle and enjoyed the evening, especially the Q&A after. Smart, thoughtful questions from sharp readers who are choosy about the books they read. Loved it.
Gorgeous weather here, cool and dry (versus the usual hot and humid) so I'm squeezing in some gardening time (still doing succession planting, so everything doesn't come on at once) between sessions here at the computer, working on The Tale of Oat Cake Crag. Tomorrow, San Antonio. Hope to see you there.
Reading note. Buffalo gourd was used by native Americans as an abortifacient—a plant whose chemicals can cause uterine contractions intense enough to abort an early-stage fetus. It was also employed by Indian mothers to wean their babies: the juice smeared on a nipple would be a definite deterrent to nursing. This squash-like plant produces a large crop of bitter fruits that the Indians dried and used as containers and scoops. The young fruits and the seeds, however, are edible, and the local rodents find them irresistible. By mid-winter, there’s not a whole gourd in sight, but turn over a rock and you’re likely to discover a cache of dried seeds, carefully hoarded against leaner times.--Susan Albert, Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place