informational desert: Melon

Friday, February 25, 2011

Melon

Various types of melons

Melon is a name given to various members of the plant family with fleshy fruit e.g gourds or cucurbits. Melon can be referred as a plant or a fruit. Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of muskmelons. The plant grows as a vine. Although the melon is a fruit, some varieties may be considered "culinary vegetables". The word melon derives from Latin melopepo,^[1] which is the latinisation of the Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopepon), meaning "melon",^[2] itself a compound of μῆλον (mēlon), "apple"^[3] + πέπων (pepōn), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon".^[4]

1 Culinary vegetables
2 Culinary fruit
5 Gallery

Culinary vegetables

Genus Momordica Bitter melon
Genus Benincasa Winter melon

Culinary fruit

Genus Citrullus
- Citrullus lanatus — Watermelon
Genus Cucumis
- Cucumis metuliferus — Horned melon
- Cucumis melo — Muskmelon
  - C. melo cantalupensis. Skin that is rough and warty, not netted. European cantaloupe and Algerian melon.
  - C. melo inodorus. Canary melon, Casaba, Kolkhoznitsa melon, Hami melon, honeydew, Navajo Yellow, Piel de Sapo/Santa Claus, sugar melon, tigger (tiger) melon, and Japanese melons (including the Sprite melon).
  - C. melo reticulatus, true muskmelons, with netted skin. Examples include Bailan melon, North American cantaloupe, Galia, Ogen, Persian, Sharlyn melons.
  - Modern crossbred varieties, e.g. Crenshaw (Casaba × Persian), Crane (Japanese × N.A. cantaloupe)