entry from field notes dated October 6, 2022, taken along the main road on the northern side of Gómez Farías, El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, southern Tamaulipas state, MÉXICO; elevation about 350m (1150 ft), ± LAT. 23.04°N, LONG. -99.15°W
CLIMBING MILKWEED WITH BIG FRUITS

Vigorously entangled in a chain link fence along the main street leading north out of the little village of Gómez Farías, the above fruit caught my eye. It looked like a somewhat immature fruit of the same kind I'd eaten in Chiapas {above entry}, and which I think may be Gonolobus edulis*.

However that species apparently isn't native to Mexico, and without flowers I can't be sure what it is. I've always assumed that the species has been introduced into Mexico as an edible cultivar, but I find no literature supporting that idea. In fact, Carla Chizmar Fernández in her 2009 publication Plantas comestibles de Centroamérica tells us that the species is not cultivated. Below, two small leaves arise a little farther up the stem:

These leaves' undersides are softly and sparsely hairy:

Farther down the fence, what may have been a different vine bore a less mature fruit on an offshoot of the vine's main stem, bearing much larger leaves than seen above:

I followed this vine's stem to the ground and found that it never became woody, though the main stem itself was rather stiff and tough.

By the way, as I was photographing the plants, the lot's owner, an old lady, came out to see what I was doing. As we spoke, two other old ladies came down the street, one of which came up and began telling us how good these pods were to eat. The landowner was astonished, considering the vines as nothing but weeds she needed to clear away.