Pearl Vine

Sarcopetalum harveyanum
Family: MENISPERMACEAE
Some of the Friends of the Escarpment Parks found these startling fruits, while they were working in Redwood Park down near the bottom of the Range. They were all olive-brown when first found first, but are now ripening to this shade of rich, ruby red.

The plant is a female pearl vine, climber which typically produces its pretty pinkish-red flowers down low on its slender woody stems - probably because it is pollinated by some kind of insect that walks to work.
As so often happens with rainforest vines, most of the leaves of this one were too high to be seen easily. We managed to find just one to photograph.

Pearl vines have potential for use in gardens. Young ones could be used for indoor plants.