About

The watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae. It is a scrambling and trailing vine-like plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit, a large berry with a firm rind and no internal divisions, botanically termed a pepo. The sweet, juicy flesh is usually deep red to pink, with many seeds that are black when mature and white when immature.

The modern watermelon originated in Sudan where it was first domesticated and cultivated. Kordofan melons are the closest relatives and may be progenitors of modern, cultivated watermelons. Watermelons were domesticated in Sudan and cultivated in Egypt by 2000 BCE. Dessert watermelons spread around the Mediterranean world during Roman antiquity. Considerable breeding effort has developed disease-resistant and seedless varieties.

How to grow it

Watermelons were originally cultivated for their high water content and stored to be eaten during dry seasons, as a source of both food and water. Early watermelons were not sweet, but bitter, with yellowish-white flesh. They were also difficult to open. The modern watermelon, which tastes sweeter and is easier to open, was developed over time through selective breeding. Dessert watermelons spread across the Mediterranean world during Roman antiquity and are mentioned with other sweet fruit in Hebrew texts of the 2nd and 6th century CE.

In the 7th century CE, watermelons were being cultivated in India, and by the 10th century had reached China. The Moors introduced the fruit into the Iberian Peninsula, and there is evidence of it being cultivated in Córdoba in 961 and also in Seville in 1158. It spread northwards through southern Europe, perhaps limited in its advance by summer temperatures being insufficient for good yields. The fruit had begun appearing in European herbals by 1600, and was widely planted in Europe in the 17th century as a minor garden crop.

Other Citrullus plants

Gemsbok Cucumber · Colocynth · Namib Tsamma