Melons
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Melons
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of botanical berry, berry, specifically a "pepo (botany), pepo". The word ''melon'' derives from Latin ', which is the Latinisation (literature), latinization of the Ancient Greek, Greek (''mēlopepōn''), meaning "melon",. itself a compound of (''mēlon''), "apple, treefruit (''of any kind'')" and (''pepōn''), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon". Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of cantaloupes. History Melons originated in Africa or in the hot valleys of Southwest Asia, especially Iran and India, from where they gradually began to appear in Europe toward the end of the Western Roman Empire. Melons are known to have been grown by the ancient Egyptians. However, recent discoveries of melon seeds dated between 1350 and 1120 BCE in Nuragic sa ...
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Honeydew (melon)
The honeydew melon is one of the two main cultivar types in ''Cucumis melo'' Inodorus Group. It is characterized by the smooth rind and lack of musky odor. The other main type in the Inodorus Group is the wrinkle-rind casaba melon. Characteristics A honeydew has a round to slightly oval shape, typically long. It generally ranges in weight from . The flesh is usually pale green in color, while the smooth peel ranges from greenish to yellow. Like most fruit, honeydew has seeds. The inner flesh is eaten, often for dessert, and honeydew is commonly found in supermarkets across the world alongside cantaloupe melons and watermelons. In California, honeydew is in season from August until October. This fruit grows best in semiarid climates and is harvested based on maturity, not size. Maturity can be hard to judge, but it is based upon the ''ground color'' ranging from greenish white (immature) to creamy yellow (mature). Quality is also determined by the honeydew having a nearl ...
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Winter Melon
''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the only member of the genus ''Benincasa''. It is native to South and Southeast Asia. The wax gourd is widely grown throughout Asia, including Java and Japan, the places where it is thought to have originated. One variety of the plant, called '' chi qua'' (''Benincasa hispida'' var. ''chieh-qua''), is commonly used in Asian cuisine. Etymology The name "winter melon" that is sometimes given to this plant is based on the Chinese name (); however, the character () can also mean “gourd” or “squash.” It is likely that the name “melon” is given because this gourd is sometimes candied or made into a sweet tea. The name "wax gourd" comes from the wax coating in the fruit's skin. Description The plant grows thick vines with coarse ...
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Cantaloupe And Canary Melon
The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the family Cucurbitaceae. Cantaloupes range in weight from . Originally, ''cantaloupe'' referred only to the non-netted, orange-fleshed melons of Europe, but today may refer to any orange-fleshed melon of the ''C. melo'' species. Etymology and origin The name ''cantaloupe'' was derived in the 18th century via French from The Cantus Region of Italian , which was formerly a Pope, papal county seat near Rome, after the fruit was introduced there from Armenia. It was first mentioned in English literature in 1739. The cantaloupe most likely originated in a region from South Asia to Africa. It was later introduced to Europe, and around 1890, became a commercial crop in the United States. ''Melon'' derived from use in Old French as during the 13th ce ...
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Watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieties. Watermelon is grown in favorable climates from tropical to temperate regions worldwide for its large edible fruit, which is a berry with a hard rind and no internal divisions, and is botanically called a ''pepo''. The sweet, juicy flesh is usually deep red to pink, with many black seeds, although seedless varieties exist. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled, and the rind is edible after cooking. It may also be consumed as a juice or an ingredient in mixed beverages. Kordofan melons from Sudan are the closest relatives and may be progenitors of modern, cultivated watermelons. Wild watermelon seeds were found in Uan Muhuggiag, a prehistoric site in Libya that dates to approximately 3500. Watermelons were domesticated in north-east ...
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Cucumeropsis Mannii
''Cucumeropsis mannii'' is a species of melon native to tropical Africa west of the East African Rift, where it is grown for food and as a source of oil. Its common names include egusi in Yoruba ‘‘‘Egwusi’’’ in Igbo and agushi in Hausa. In English it is known as Mann's cucumeropsis and white-seed melon. It produces climbing vines up to 4 meters long which are covered in stiff hairs. The heart-shaped or roughly palmate leaves are up to 12 centimeters long and 14 wide. It bears small yellow male and female flowers with petals under a centimeter in length. The fruit is egg-shaped or an elongated ovate shape, up to about 19 centimeters long and 8 wide, and cream in color with green streaks. The fruit and white seeds are edible. The plant is grown more often for the seed oil than for the fruit. Description ''Cucumeropsis mannii'' is a member of the family Cucurbitaceae. Vernacular names for this crop include egusi-itoo and white seed melon.[ Egunjobi, J.K. & Adebisi, A. ...
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Cantaloupe
The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the family Cucurbitaceae. Cantaloupes range in weight from . Originally, ''cantaloupe'' referred only to the non-netted, orange-fleshed melons of Europe, but today may refer to any orange-fleshed melon of the ''C. melo'' species. Etymology and origin The name ''cantaloupe'' was derived in the 18th century via French from The Cantus Region of Italian , which was formerly a papal county seat near Rome, after the fruit was introduced there from Armenia. It was first mentioned in English literature in 1739. The cantaloupe most likely originated in a region from South Asia to Africa. It was later introduced to Europe, and around 1890, became a commercial crop in the United States. ''Melon'' derived from use in Old French as during the 13th century ...
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Watermelon And Melon In India
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a plant breeding, highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 variety (botany), varieties. Watermelon is grown in favorable Climate, climates from tropics, tropical to temperate climate, temperate regions worldwide for its large edible fruit, which is a Berry (botany), berry with a hard rind and no internal divisions, and is botany, botanically called a Glossary of botanical terms#pepo, ''pepo''. The sweet, juicy flesh is usually deep red to pink, with many black seeds, although seedless fruit, seedless varieties exist. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled, and the rind is edible after cooking. It may also be consumed as a juice or an ingredient in mixed beverages. Kordofan melons from Sudan are the closest relatives and may be progenitors of modern, cul ...
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Cantaloupe Melon Cross Section
The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the family Cucurbitaceae. Cantaloupes range in weight from . Originally, ''cantaloupe'' referred only to the non-netted, orange-fleshed melons of Europe, but today may refer to any orange-fleshed melon of the ''C. melo'' species. Etymology and origin The name ''cantaloupe'' was derived in the 18th century via French from The Cantus Region of Italian , which was formerly a papal county seat near Rome, after the fruit was introduced there from Armenia. It was first mentioned in English literature in 1739. The cantaloupe most likely originated in a region from South Asia to Africa. It was later introduced to Europe, and around 1890, became a commercial crop in the United States. ''Melon'' derived from use in Old French as during the 13th century, ...
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Egusi
Egusi (Yoruba: '' ẹ̀gúsí,'' Igbo: ègwusi), also known as, agusi, ohue, Ikpan, Ikon, or agushi) is the name for the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants (squash, melon, gourd), which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. Authorities disagree whether the word is used more properly for the seeds of the colocynth, those of a particular large-seeded variety of the watermelon, or generically for those of ''any'' cucurbitaceous plant. The characteristics and uses of all these seeds are broadly similar. Major egusi-growing nations include Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Mali, and Cameroon. Species from which egusi is derived include ''Cucumeropsis mannii'' and ''Citrullus lanatus''. Usage Egusi soup is a soup thickened with the seeds. Egusi soup is popular in West Africa, with considerable local variations. Besides the seeds, water, and oil, egusi soup typically contains leaf vegetable ...
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Citrullus
''Citrullus'' is a genus of seven species of desert vines, among which ''Citrullus lanatus'' (the watermelon) is an important crop. Taxonomy Molecular data, including sequences from the original collection of ''Momordica lanata'' made near Cape Town by C. P. Thunberg in 1773, show that what Thunberg collected is not what has been called ''Citrullus lanatus'', the domesticated watermelon, since the 1930s. Although this error only occurred in 1930 (Bailey, Gentes Herbarum 2: 180–186), it has been perpetuated in hundreds of papers on the watermelon. In addition, there is an older name for the watermelon, ''Citrullus battich'' Forssk. (Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 167. Jun 1775), which would normally have the precedence over ''Momordica lanata'' Thunberg (Prodr. Pl. Cap.: 13. 1794). To solve this problem, it has been proposed to conserve the name ''Citrullus lanatus'' with a new type to preserve the current sense of the name Species ''Citrullus'' consists of the following species and subs ...
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Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by their inhabitants as comprising the entire world, with the "New World", a term for the newly encountered lands of the Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas. Etymology In the context of archaeology and world history, the term "Old World" includes those parts of the world which were in (indirect) cultural contact from the Bronze Age onwards, resulting in the parallel development of the early civilizations, mostly in the temperate zone between roughly the 45th and 25th parallels north, in the area of the Mediterranean, including North Africa. It also included Mesopotamia, the Persian plateau, the Indian subcontinent, China, and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. These regions were connected via the Silk Road trade route, and they have a p ...
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Lagenaria Siceraria
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh. Calabash fruits have a variety of shapes: they can be huge and rounded, small and bottle-shaped, or slim and serpentine, and they can grow to be over a metre long. Rounder varieties are typically called calabash gourds. The gourd was one of the world's first cultivated plants grown not primarily for food, but for use as containers. The bottle gourd may have been carried from Asia to Africa, Europe, and the Americas in the course of human migration, or by seeds floating across the oceans inside the gourd. It has been proven to have been globally domesticated (an ...
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