Mystery Vine

About a month ago, a mysterious vine started growing on a low-lying limb of the pin oak.

The vine grew pretty fast, but it wasn't kudzu. We decided to take a closer look.

It had big leaves and some small flowers on stalks.

A variety of bees seemed to like the flowers.

The vine has  tendrils that attach themselves to branches and leaves of the pin oak.

It also has odd little pods that grow beneath the leaves.

 I asked some friends on Facbook what it might be. Guesses included kudzu, wild grape, fox grape, moonseed vine, and moonflower. A few folks suggested wild cucumber, which seems the most likely possibility, but a wild cucumber has a different flower. Most likely my mystery vine is a bur cucumber—but my vine looks slightly different from pictures I found online.

Whatever it is, its days are numbered on the pin oak.

So—is it a bur cucumber, or what?

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