Ibervillea sonorae

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Ibervillea sonorae is a tuberous perennial plant in the cucumber family, commonly called wereke, wareque, guarequi, or coyote melon. It has a massive, water-filled tuber that sits in dry sand, sometimes looking like a gray rock. From the tuber grow long, flexible vines up to 3 meters long with bright green, three-lobed leaves and branched tendrils. The plant is native to northwestern Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa). It has separate male and female plants; flowers are small with yellow petals and open in the morning. Fruits are small, orange to amber, about 3–4 cm long, and are very bitter to taste. In spring the shoots appear, die back in fall, and reemerge the next year, all supported by the large tuber that stores water.