If you were given a paddy melon, what would you do with it?

Melon of many names, "cucumis myriocarpus", the gooseberry cucumber, gooseberry gourd, paddy melon, Mallee Pear or prickly paddy melon is a herb native to tropical and southern Africa. While this melon looks very much like melons we see in our fruit stores with round, yellow-green or green-striped fruit, both the fruit and foliage are highly toxic due to the presence of cucurbitacin. The plant is potentially toxic to livestock and there are records of poisoning in humans.

The melon has become a noxious weed in Australia and in California, where another name - bitter apple - can be added.

If broken apart, they have an unpleasant odor which, fortunately, makes them less palatable to livestock.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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13 Comments

Special Patrol Group

Poorly worded question and answer. The explanation does not confirm the answer given.

rkcorrigan

The correct answer makes sense given the description provided, but nowhere in the description did I see the words “throw it away”.

Denise Currie

Richard G Schwartz, No, it is still toxic

JohnnyRoulette

I had no idea. I picked throw it away because I wouldn’t eat that thing in the picture

Julie Allen

Paddy melons (Cucumis myriocarpus) and Afghan/Camel melons (Citrullus lanatus) are common weeds across Australia, having originated from Sub-Saharan Africa, and introduced to Australia (along with camels) sometime in the mid-1800s. They're summer-growing annuals. The fruit and foliage are toxic due to the presence of cucurbitacin. The plant is toxic to humans as well as to horses, sheep, cattle and pigs and it has been associated with stock deaths. It has been used by humans as an emetic.

Julie Allen

Annelie Scholtz, Yes I had always thought they were Australian till now.

Charles Hunt

Tony, the marsupial is a pademelon.

Tony

There is also a small marsupial on east coast of Australia called the paddy melon, but you cant eat it either lol

David Stokes

Picky picky Heather! Paddy melons also cause night blindness in horses, which when mustering cattle in the Aussie outback can be very dangerous for the nightwatch mustering team. Cockatoos, especially Corellas and Galahs love their seeds and are responsible for spreading them.