What's this? Vine with heart-shaped foliage and green-to-black fruit (Identified: Creeping Cucumber)

Question

New member, probably my first of many "what's this" type posts. I've just recently gotten into gardening and there are a lot of wild plants around my house which are just lovely, hoping to incorporate them. But first, identification!

I live in Memphis, TN -- zone 7.

Today, I opened my bedroom window for the first time in months and found a very pretty vine growing over it. Looking closer, it produces berries. I want to seed it along a fence in the back yard but I'm not sure if it will choke out the other plants.

The berries, which look and feel like tiny oval grapes, start green and turn black. Many were covered with a specific bug:

Nearby on the ground was a clump of trumpet flowers, which I've also spotted vining over the trees a few dozen yards away. Maybe the same plant?

I just love the heart-shaped foliage.

So, what is this??

Edit: Sitting inside at the computer, just saw a beautiful baby cardinal fly onto the vine and pick a cucumber. Guess that means my chickens can eat it, too. Definitely going to spread this.

Answer 1

Your first plant appears to be Melothria Pendula, Creeping Cucumber and apparently there's some debate over whether or not their fruit are toxic, I suspect the answer is, "don't eat very many." The insect is likely some manner of squash bug, they feed on a wide variety of Cucurbit Family plant species, apparently including this one.

Whether or not the plant will choke out your other plants depends on what other plants you have in mind, most Cucurbit Family plants tend to go up and over anything they are planted near, just as this one has on your house. If it's a tall plant, or one that doesn't mind some shade, it probably will co-exist adequately.

The flower in the last picture belongs to a Trumpet Vine. Very pretty, but also very aggressive, left to it's own devices it will tend to get out of hand, but if you keep it pruned back it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Answer 2

Did some Googling -- could this be Creeping Cucumber? I grew a huge crop of cucumber on the other side of the house earlier this spring/summer, and the same-looking bugs (?) were there, too. My only hesitation is that the fruit doesn't look speckled like on Google Image. The foliage looks right, though, maybe? I guess the trumpet flowers are from a different plant?