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Magnoliopsida
Cucumis melo L.
EOL Text
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
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Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Cucumis+melo |
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Cucumis+melo |
Leaf: Used for scrotal hernias in NW Guyana.
Cucumis melo, melon, is a member of the horticulturally diverse gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) likely native to Central Asia (although uncultivated relatives are indigenous to tropical and sub-tropical Africa). Melons have been developed into numerous varieties that are now cultivated in warm areas worldwide for their juicy, edible, often musky-scented flesh.
Melon plants are frost-tender annuals with soft, hairy climbing or trailing vines with tendrils, and large round to lobed leaves. Flowers are unisexual; female flowers are yellow, and around 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter. Fruits (pepos) vary considerably in size, shape, texture, flavors, and rind and flesh colors across the numerous cultivars, but generally weigh from 1 to 5 kilograms (2 to 11 pounds). The center of the fruit is filled with white, oblong seeds, around 1 cm long.
There are seven major groups of cultivated melon varieties (sometimes divided into ten groups, or two subspecies). Among them are the Cantalupensis group (name after Cantalupo, near Rome, where they were developed), which have sweet orange flesh and a warty rind; the Inodorous group, or winter melons, which are large, smooth-skinned, and mildly flavored, including the honeydew and casaba melons; and the Reticulatis group, netted or nutmeg melons, with sweet orange flesh (although some green-fleshed varieties have been developed) and a netted rind, including small muskmelons and Persian melons. Other groups are the Flexuosus (snake or serpent melons), Conomon (oriental pickling melons), Chito (mango melons), and Dudaim (stinking melons).
Cantaloupes, which are a good source of vitamin A and beta-carotene, are widely cultivated for commercial use in Europe. The melons often sold as cantaloupes in North America are more typically netted melons, which, along with the winter melons, are commercially grown and important in parts of the U.S., with numerous cultivars adapted to growing conditions of various regions. Snake, pickling, and mango melons, used for pickles and preserves, and stinking melons, which are ornamental and fragrant, are grown locally in Eurasia. Melons are susceptible to many serious fungal, viral, and bacterial and insect pests, which limits production.
Melons were known and cultivated in ancient times by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and were used as medicinals. Domestication and development of horticultural varieties was also important in India, Persia, south Russia, and China. Herbals 16th and 17th century Europe list many medicinal uses. The seeds have been used to treat intestinal parasites, but must be used with caution, as sprouting seeds produce toxic compounds. Melons are primarily eaten fresh, but in various parts of Africa, oil expressed from the seeds is used in cooking.
The term "melon" is also used to refer to a number of other species: watermelon (Citrullus vulgarism); Chinese watermelon or wax gourd (Benincasa hispida); melon shrub or pear melon (Solanum muricata); papaya, sometimes called melon tree (Carica papaya); and others.
(Encyclopedia Britanica 1993, Hedrick 1919, Kirkbride 1993, PFAF 2011, Simon et al. 1993, Whittaker and Davis 1962)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Jacqueline Courteau, Jacqueline Courteau |
Source | No source database. |
Uses: MEDICINE/DRUG, Folk medicine
Comments: In Colombia, the seeds are considered to be taenifuges. The root is valued as an emetic in Mexico and Colombia.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Cucumis+melo |
Canada
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Cucumis+melo |
Muskmelon (Cucumis melo) is a species of melon that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. These include smooth skinned varieties such as honeydew, crenshaw and casaba, and different netted cultivars (cantaloupe, Persian melon and Santa Claus or Christmas melon). The Armenian cucumber is also a variety of muskmelon, but its shape, taste, and culinary uses more closely resemble those of a cucumber. The large number of cultivars in this species approaches that found in wild cabbage, though morphological variation is not as extensive. It is a fruit of a type called pepo. Muskmelon is native to Iran, Anatolia, Armenia, and adjacent areas on the west and the east which is believed to be their center of origin and development, with a secondary center including the northwest provinces of India and Afghanistan. Although truly wild forms of C. melo have not been found, several related wild species have been noted in those regions.
Contents
Genetics[edit]
NCBI genome ID | 10697 |
---|---|
Ploidy | diploid |
Genome size | 374.77 Mb |
Number of chromosomes | 12 |
Year of completion | 2012 |
Muskmelons are monoecious plants. They do not cross with watermelon, cucumber, pumpkin, or squash, but varieties within the species intercross frequently.[1] The genome of Cucumis melo L. was first sequenced in 2012.[2]
Nutrition[edit]
Cantaloupe melons are an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C, and a good source of potassium.[3]
Uses[edit]
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.[4] The Japanese liqueur Midori is flavored with muskmelon.
Gallery[edit]
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Japanese melon intended as a high-priced gift. The pictured melon is 6300 yen, or about 62 US dollars).
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Squared Melon grown in Atsumi District, Aichi Japan. It is known as "Kakumero".
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The Armenian cucumber, despite the name, is actually a type of muskmelon.
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Melon vendor in Samarkand, 1915
See also[edit]
- Bailan melon
- Cantaloupe
- Crane Melon
- Cucumis
- Galia
- Hami Melon
- Honeydew
- Melon baller
- Montreal melon
- Persian melon
- Piel de Sapo
- Sugar melon
- Melon Day
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Muskmelons Originated in Persia. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/muskmelon.html
- ^ The genome of melon (Cucumis melo L.) . http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/06/28/1205415109.short
- ^ Nutrition Facts for melons, cantaloupe
- ^ National Research Council (2008-01-25). "Melon". Lost Crops of Africa: Volume III: Fruits. Lost Crops of Africa 3. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-10596-5. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
Sources[edit]
- Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The Plant Book. A portable dictionary of the higher plants. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-34060-8.
- Magness, J.R., G.M. Markle, C.C. Compton. 1971. Food and feed crops of the United States. Interregional Research Project IR-4, IR Bul. 1 (Bul. 828 New Jersey Agr. Expt. Sta.).
- Desai, B.B. (2004). Seeds Handbook: Biology, Production, Processing, and Storage, Vol. 103. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8247-4800-X.
- http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/muskmelon.html
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muskmelon&oldid=649151865 |
Distribución: En áreas alteradas de baja elevación, coleccionada en Gurabo y Lajas. Especie Africana que ha dado origen a varias razas con frutos comestibles mediante selección artificial. Entre éstas se encuentran el “cantaloupe” y el “honeydue”.
Cucumis melo is the species of melon from which the popular fruits cantaloupe and honey dew are derived.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Amy Chang, Amy Chang |
Source | No source database. |
Distribution: In disturbed areas at lower elevations, collected in Gurabo and Lajas. An African species that has given rise to several races with edible fruits through artificial selection. Among these are the “cantaloupe” and the “honeydew.”