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Marah oregana

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Photo by
Mary Sue Ittner.


Photo from Uspest.org.

Author: Thomas Jefferson Howell, 1898
Family:  CUCURBITACEAE
Origin:  Western U.S.A.
Soil:  Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Maximum
Thickness:  40 Centimetres
Height:  6 Meters
Flower:  White - Greenish Yellow
Propagate:  Seeds
Names:  Oregon Bigroot, Manroot, Coastal Manroot, Old-Man-in-the-Ground
Synonyms:  Megarrhiza oregana, John Torrey.
Echinocystis oregana, Cogn.
Micrampelis oregona, Greene.
Sicyos oreganus, Torr. & A.Gray.
Marah oreganus, (Torr. & A.Gray) Howell?

This member of the Cucurbitaceae family was given this name by Thomas Jefferson Howell in 1898. It is found on most of the west coast of Northern America, growing in a rich but drained soil with some water and some sun. The caudex can grow up to 40 centimetres in diameter, the vines up to six meters long. The flowers are from white to greenish yellow.

The genera name might be from Latin amarus; 'bitter' for the taste of the roots. The species name means 'from Oregon'.