Creature Feature: Coyote Melon

They aren't good for pies or carving, but our local "pumpkins" are still festive and pretty!

Halloween is coming and pumpkin patches are popping up all over town.

But did you know San Diego has a native pumpkin too?

It's called coyote melon, or sometimes coyote gourd, and it's a close relative of the classic orange pumpkins we like to carve, bake, and decorate with.

Make no mistake, coyote melons are nothing but seeds and they taste terrible. You can't carve their extremely hard flesh. And they're usually no bigger than a softball. But bees love their gigantic flowers, they're a lush ground cover in spring and summer, and they are extremely hardy—often preferring hot, dry conditions and gravelly, nutrient-poor soil.

In other words, coyote melons make a great garden addition and provide free Halloween decor in the fall! A win-win for the spooky season crowd.

As for the plant's name... there are dozens of competing stories. Perhaps it's because coyotes do occasionally eat them, or maybe it's because the fruit looks edible, but is actually quite bitter, like a trickster... like a coyote.

In any case, the coyote melon is yet another strange, beautiful plant that is perfectly adapted to our unique environment. And so festive, too!