Balsam Apple Vine - Momordica balsamina
The Balsam Apple is a tropical vine with bright yellow flowers followed by curious, oblong, yellow-orange warty fruits that burst open when ripe, and has attractive, glossy green foliage. It is native to the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Although the pale yellow, deeply-veined flowers have a subtle beauty, its round, somewhat warty, bright-orange fruits, or "apples", are its most distinguishing feature. When ripe, the fruits burst apart, revealing numerous seeds covered with a brilliant scarlet, extremely sticky coating.
The ripe fruits and seeds are toxic and most animals avoid them but I have on several occasions seen Mockingbirds eat the seeds.
