Gomphocarpus cancellatus green fruit

Green and purple compete on the surface of this Gomphocarpus cancellatus fruit that is green in the sense of being unripe. Shine and faint white down also compete on the same surface. The back end of the fruit is paler and blunter in shape than its tip.

Thin, finger-like protrusions grow in perfunctory rows that will drive drill sergeants insane, but are far from randomly scattered. These fleshy projections are purple, also in the green surface areas, tending to be longer near the tip of the fruit where more protrusions are present (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005; iNaturalist).