PUBLISHED IN: Catalogus Seminum et Sporarum in Horto Botanico Universitatis Imperialis Tokyoensis per annos 1915 et 1916 lectorum. 30, no. 854. 1916. Annotation: also in 38. 1920.

TYPE: Promontorio Bonae Spei Africes, Thunberg s.n. (herb. non desig.) Keraudren (1990) cites UPS.

ETYMOLOGY: wooly.

BASIONYM: Momordica lanata Thunb., Prodromus Plantarum Capensium… 13. 1794. Annotation: Fl. Gal. (1971), cites this taxon in Fl. Cap. 36. 1807.

SYNONYMY: Citrullus caffer Schrad., Ind. Sem. Hort. Acad. Gott. s.n. 1834.
     Citrullus colocynthis var. lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. Basionym: Momordica lanata Thunb., Prodromus Plantarum Capensium… 13. 1794.
     Citrullus edulis Spach, Histoire Naturelle des Végétaux—Phanérogames 5: 214. 1838. Annotation: ?? FRPS has “6: 214.”
     Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf., Kulturpflanze Beiheft 2: 421. 1959. Annotation: isonym, nom. illeg., non Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai (1916). Basionym: Momordica lanata Thunb., Prodromus Plantarum Capensium… 13. 1794.
     Citrullus vulgaris Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh., Enumeratio Plantarum Africae Australis Extratropicae 2: 279. 1834 [1836].
     Colocynthis amarissima Schrad., Ind. Sem. Hort. Acad. Gott. 2. 1833.
     Colocynthis citrullus (L.) Kuntze, Revisio Generum Plantarum 1: 256. 1891. Annotation: In Fl. Gal. (1971) as “Calocynthis.” Basionym: Cucurbita citrullus L., Species Plantarum 2: 1010–1011. 1753.
     Cucumis citrullus (L.) Ser., Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis 3: 301. 1828. Basionym: Cucurbita citrullus L., Species Plantarum 2: 1010–1011. 1753.
     Cucumis colocynthis Thunb., Prodromus Plantarum Capensium… 13. 1794. Annotation: non L., nom. illeg., non Cucumis colocynthis L. (1753).
     Cucumis laciniosus Eckl. ex Schrad., Linnaea 10: 70. 1836.
     Cucurbita anguria Duchesne ex Lam., Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique 2: 158. 1786. Annotation: nom. illegit.
     Cucurbita caffra Eckl. & Zeyh., Enumeratio Plantarum Africae Australis Extratropicae 2: 279. 1836.
     Cucurbita citrullus L., Species Plantarum 2: 1010–1011. 1753. Annotation: as “Citrullus;” typ. cons. Type: Sicilia, Calabria, Apulia, sine leg. (herb. non desig.) Keraudren (1990) cites lectotype: LINN-1151.5.

INFRASPECIFIC TAXA: Citrullus lanatus subsp. mucosospermus Fursa, Bot. Zhurn. 57(1): 38. 1972.
     Citrullus lanatus subsp. vulgaris (Schrad.) Fursa, Bot. Zhurn., 57 (1): 37. 1972.
     Citrullus lanatus var. albidus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 180. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. albidus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest.,1(3): 180. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. caffrorum (Alefeld) F. R. Fosberg, Smithsonian Contrib. Bot., 45: 15. 1980.
     Citrullus lanatus var. capensis (Alef.) Fursa, Bot. Zhurn., 57(1): 37. 1972.
     Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L. H. Bailey) Mansf.
     Citrullus lanatus var. cordophanus (Ter-Avan.) Fursa, Bot. Zhurn., 57(1): 38. 1972.
     Citrullus lanatus var. fistulosus (Steward) C. R. Babu, Herb.Fl. Dehra Dun: 194. 1977.
     Citrullus lanatus var. fistulosus (Stocks) H. L. Chakravarty, Fasc. Fl. India,11: 23. 1982.
     Citrullus lanatus var. minor (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest.,1(3): 180. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. oblongus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 181. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. pulcherrimus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian. J. Forest., 1(3): 180. 1978
     Citrullus lanatus var. pumilus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 181. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. rotundus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest.,1(3): 180. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. shami (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 181. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. variegatus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari , Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 180. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. virgatus (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 181. 1978.
     Citrullus lanatus var. viridis (Chakravarty) J. K. Maheshwari, Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 180. 1978.

VERNACULAR NAME: watermelon

OTHER VERNACULAR NAMES: tsamma (wild in the Kalahari Desert)
     Arabic: battikh
     Chinese: xi gua
     Danish: vandmelon
     Dutch: watermeloen
     French: pastèque, melon d'eau
     German: Wassermelone
     Hebrew: avattiah
     Hindi: tarbuj, tarbuz, kharmuja, tarmuj
     Italian: cocomero, anguria, melone d'acqua
     Japanese: suika
     Malay: tembikai, sikoi
     Portuguese: melancia
     Russian: arbuz stolovyj
     Spanish: sandía
     Tagalog: pakwan
     Yoruba (Nigerian): ibara

For Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L. H. Bailey) Mansf.
     citron, preserving melon
     Chinese: xiao xi gua
     French: citre, méreville

CULTIVARS:

DESCRIPTION: Fruit:

CHROMOSOME NUMBER: 2n = 22.

DISTRIBUTION: Tropical Africa. Naturalized in the Americas. Cultivated in warmer regions worldwide.

ECOLOGY:

EDIBLE USE: Red- and yellow-fleshed fruit consumed fresh, as a beverage, and in a variety of recipes. Small white-fleshed cultivars used for preserves. Seeds used as a snackseed, in soups, and for seedoil in Eastern Europe to China. Ingredient of sunlotions and other cosmetics.

MEDICINAL USE:

OTHER USE:

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: Cultivated in the Nile Valley since at least the start of the 2nd millennium BC. Numerous seeds were found in c. 1325 BC in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

CONSERVATION:

CULTIVATION PRACTICES:

SEEDS AVAILABLE FROM:

LITERATURE: Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi . 1993. Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 45: i–xl, 1–1286.
     Dieterle, J.V.A. 1976. Cucurbitaceae. In Nash, D.L. (Ed.), Flora of Guatemala - Part X, Number 4. Fieldiana, Botany. 24(11/4): 306–395.
     Dodson, C. H., A. H. Gentry & F. M. Valverde. 1985. La Flora de Jauneche: Los Ríos, Ecuador. Flórulas de las Zonas de Vida del Ecuador. 1–512.
     Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez (eds.). 1999. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden. 75: i–viii, 1–1182.
     Keraudren, M. 1966. Cucurbitacees. Flore de Madagascar et des Comores. 185: 1–165.
     Keraudren-Aymonin, M. 1990. Cucurbitacées. Flore des Mascareignes: la Réunion, Maurice, Rodrigues. 101: 1–21.
     Lawesson, J. E., H. Adsersen & P. Bentley. 1987. An updated and annotated check list of the vascular plants of the Galapagos Islands. Reports from the Botanical Institute, University of Aarhus. 16: 1–74.
     Maheshwari, J.K. 1978. Indian J. Forest., 1(3): 180.
     Mansfeld, R. 1959. Die Kulturpflanze Beih. 2: 421.
     Nee, M. 1993. Cucurbitaceae. Flora de Veracruz. 74: 1–133.
     Porter, D. M. 1983. Vascular plants of the Galapagos: Origins and dispersal. Patterns of Evolution in Galapagos Organisms. 3–54.
     Renner, S. S., H. Balslev & L. B. Holm-Nielsen. 1990. Flowering plants of Amazonian Ecuador—A checklist. AAU Reports. 24: 1–241.
     Sousa S., M. & E. F. Cabrera C. 1983. Flora de Quintana Roo. Listados Florísticos de México. 2: 1–100.
     Steyermark, J. A., Paul E. Berry, and Bruce K. Holst (eds.) 1995–. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.
     Voss, E. G. 1996. Michigan Flora, Part III: Dicots (Pyrolaceae-Compositae). NONE LISTED. Cranbrook Inst. of Science, Ann Arbor.
     Wiggins, I. L. & D. M. Porter. 1971. Flora of the Galápagos Islands. 1–998.
     Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. x + 806 pp.
     Zarucchi, J. L., Funston, A. M., et al. 2001+. Checklist of the Flora of China. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden.

INTERNET: Watermelon—The Essense of Summertime: http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/kitchen/2001su_watermelon.html
National Watermelon Promotion Board: http://www.watermelon.org/
Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, Growing Watermelon in the Home Garden: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/1000/1626.html