''Cucumis melo'', also known as melon, is a species of '' Cucumis'' that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. The fruit is a pepo. The flesh is either sweet or bland, with or without a musky aroma, and the rind can be smooth (such as honeydew), ribbed (such as European cantaloupe), wrinkled (such as casaba melon), or netted (such as muskmelon). In North America, the sweet-flesh varieties are often collectively called muskmelon, including the musky netted-rind varieties and the inodorous smooth-rind varieties, and cantaloupe usually means the former type. However, muskmelon in a narrow sense only refers to the musky netted-rind type, while the true cantaloupe is the European type with ribbed and often warty rind that is seldom grown in North America. The origin of melons is not known. Research has revealed that seeds and

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...

s were among the goods traded along the caravan routes of the Ancient World. Some botanists consider melons native to the Levant and Egypt, while others place their origin in Iran, India or Central Asia. Still others support an African origin, and in modern times wild melons can still be found in some African countries.

Background

The melon is an

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual * Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

, trailing herb. It grows well in subtropical or warm, temperate climates. Melons prefer warm, well-fertilized soil with good drainage that is rich in nutrients, but are vulnerable to

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of c ...

and

anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

. Disease risk is reduced by

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

with non- cucurbit crops, avoiding crops susceptible to similar diseases as melons.

Cross pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

has resulted in some varieties developing resistance to powdery mildew. Insects attracted to melons include the cucumber beetle, melon aphid, melonworm moth and the pickleworm.

Genetics

Melons are

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy i ...

plants. They do not cross with

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 var ...

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus '' Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes u ...

, or squash, but varieties within the species intercross frequently. The genome of ''Cucumis melo'' was first sequenced in 2012. Some authors treat ''C. melo'' as having two subspecies, ''C. melo agrestis'' and ''C. melo melo''. Variants within these subspecies fall into groups whose genetics largely agree with their phenotypic traits, such as disease resistance, rind texture, flesh color, and fruit shape. Variants or landraces (some of which were originally classified as species; see the synonyms list to the right) include ''C. melo'' var. ''acidulus'', ''adana'', ''agrestis'', ''ameri'', ''cantalupensis'', ''chandalak'', ''chate'', ''chinensis'', ''chito'', ''conomon'', ''dudaim'', ''flexuosus'', ''inodorus'', ''makuwa'', ''momordica'', ''reticulatus'' and ''tibish''. Not all varieties are sweet melons. The snake melon, also called the Armenian cucumber and Serpent cucumber, is a non-sweet melon found throughout Asia from Turkey to Japan. It is similar to a

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.calories The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...

and are a rich source (20% or more the

Daily Value The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...

, DV) of

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably ...

(68% DV) and

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) a ...

(61% DV), with other nutrients at a negligible level. Melons are 90% water and 9%

carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...

, with less than 1% each of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respon ...

and fat.

Uses

In addition to their consumption when fresh, melons are sometimes dried. Other varieties are cooked, or grown for their seeds, which are processed to produce melon oil. Still other varieties are grown only for their pleasant fragrance. The Japanese

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged bey ...

Midori is flavored with melon.

History

There is debate among scholars whether the ''abattiach'' in The Book of Numbers 11:5 refers to a melon or a

. Both types of melon were known in Ancient Egypt and other settled areas. Some botanists consider melons native to the

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

and Egypt, while others place the origin in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

, India or Central Asia, thus the origin is uncertain. Researchers have shown that seeds and

s were among the goods traded along the caravan routes of the Ancient World. Several scientists support an African origin, and in modern times wild melons can still be found in several African countries in East Africa like Ethiopia, Somalia and Tanzania. Melon was domesticated in West Asia and over time many

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s developed with variety in shape and sweetness. Iran, India, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and China become centers for melon production. Melons were consumed in Ancient Greece and Rome.

Gallery

File:Cucumis melo 1 (Piotr Kuczynski).jpg, Galia melon File:03-05-JPN202.jpg, Japanese "crown melon" intended as a high-priced gift: The pictured crown melon is 6300 yen, or about File:Squeredmelon inside001.jpg, 'Squared melon' grown in Atsumi District, Aichi Japan, known as ''kakumero'' File:Armenian cucumbers.jpeg, The Armenian cucumber, despite the name, is actually a type of melon. File:Prokudin-Gorskii-15.jpg, Melon vendor in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top: Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zi ...

(between 1905 and 1915) File:Shirouri.JPG, Oriental pickling melon File:Muskmelon Seeds.jpg, Muskmelon Seeds

References

External links

Cucumis melo L.
– Purdue University, Center for New Crops & Plant Products.

– Multilingual multiscript plant name database

– Varietal names and pictures {{Authority control melo Fruits originating in Asia Melons Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus