The vines can reach lengths of 15 to 25 feet. Burcucumber leaves are thin, five-lobed, and up to 10 inches across. Leaves are borne on a stout pubescent petiole ranging from 1 to 4 inches long. Tendrils develop in the base of leaf petioles. Also developing in leaf axils are green and white flowers that emerge in late summer and early fall.
Female flowers develop into a fruit containing a single seed.
Three to 15 fruits are borne in a cluster. The hard and thick pericarp, which prevents seed germination by keeping moisture from entering, must be worn thin or broken to allow moisture in for seed germination. In the field, burcucumber will germinate from mid-May until September. Burcucumber germination is more sensitive to moisture stress than corn, requiring moist soils for high percentage of germination. As a result, burcucumber grows best along river banks, flood plains and edges of woods, but it will spread and grow in other locations.