Does anyone know what type of fruit or growth this is? We thought we were growing tomatoes, the companion plant is producing tomatoes as expected but we don’t know what to make of this and whether it would be edible. The white spots are hard and pointy, almost like thorns. Any insight is greatly appreciated, thank you!
2 Answers
That looks like a poorly pollinated cucumber (the type of distortion on the fruit is exactly what you'd see if pollination were uneven). Although I can't see any leaves, the stem looks like a cucumber and even contains tendrils, as you'd expect. The cuke is edible, but will be very seedy and not particularly nice to eat. In addition, the yellowing tip indicates that the fruit is over-ripe. Personally, I'd toss it and not eat it.
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3How do cucumbers happen? What does "very poorly pollinated cucumber" mean exactly? How can pollination be "uneven"?– uhohCommented Oct 10, 2022 at 22:26
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I'm confused, I would assume then there's a cucumber plant nearby and a seed/something made it's way to OPs tomato area? ...Are you suggesting cucumbers migrate? Commented Oct 12, 2022 at 15:31
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@BruceWayne As you surmised, the only way that the OP could have a cucumber mixed in with their tomatoes is if they had cucumber seeds in the potting mix or in the garden soil. I suppose a cuke could migrate if a chipmunk picked up a chunk with seeds and dropped it in the garden, but that's nothing I've ever seen them do.– JurpCommented Oct 12, 2022 at 16:18
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Mice appreciate melon seeds, and drop trails of them as they move them; they might do that with cucumber seeds, too. Commented Oct 13, 2022 at 8:41
Might be a cucumber as @Jurp said, but also looks like a Cyclanthera pedata or Caigua which is part of the same gourd family. A bit weird shape and thorns show up on an image google, lighter green though.
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1Leaves and seeds would make a more certain ID, as Cyclanthera seeds are black, IIRC. Using "caigua" can be misleading, because the same common name applies to at least three different genera, so I'm glad you used the botanical name. Personally, I don't see the resemblance (Cyclanthera seems to be pointier, with larger spines), but who knows? Without the seeds and leaves, we can't be sure.– JurpCommented Oct 10, 2022 at 22:30