A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The word melon derives from Latinmelopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων, meaning "melon", itself a compound of μῆλον, "apple, treefruit " and πέπων, amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon". Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of cantaloupes.
History
Melons originated in Africa or in the hot valleys of Southwest Asia, especially Iran and India, from where they gradually began to appear in Europe toward the end of the Western Roman Empire. Melons are known to have been grown by the ancient Egyptians. However, recent discoveries of melon seeds dated between 1350 and 1120 BC in Nuragic sacred wells have shown that melons were first brought to Europe by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Melons were among the earliest plants to be domesticated in both the Old and among the first crop species brought by westerners to the New Worlds. Early European settlers in the New World are recorded as growing honeydew and casaba melons as early as the 1600s. A number of Native American tribes in New Mexico, including Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Navajo, Santo Domingo and San Felipe, maintain a tradition of growing their own characteristic melon cultivars, derived from melons originally introduced by the Spanish. Organizations like Native Seeds/SEARCH have made an effort to collect and preserve these and other heritage seeds.
Melons by genus
''Benincasa''
Winter melon is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The mature winter melon is a cooking vegetable that is widely used in Asia, especially in India. The immature melons are used as a culinary fruit.
Egusi is a wild melon, similar in appearance to the watermelon. The flesh is inedible, but the seeds are a valuable food source in Africa. Other species that have the same culinary role, and that are also called egusi include Cucumeropsis mannii and Lagenaria siceraria.
Watermelon originated in Africa, where evidence indicates that it has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. It is a popular summer fruit in all parts of the world.
''Cucumis''
Melons in genus Cucumis are culinary fruits, and include the majority of culinary melons. All but a handful of culinary melon varieties belong to the species Cucumis melo L.
** The Persian melon resemble a large cantaloupe with a darker green rind and a finer netting.
* C. melo inodorus, casabas, honeydew, and Asian melons
** Argos, a large, oblong, with orange wrinkled skin, orange flesh, strong aroma. A characteristic is its pointed ends. Growing in some areas of Greece, from which it was named.
** Canary melon, a large, bright-yellow melon with a pale green to white inner flesh.
** Casaba, bright yellow, with a smooth, furrowed skin. Less flavorful than other melons, but keeps longer.
** Honeydew, with a sweet, juicy, green-colored flesh. Grown as bailan melon in Lanzhou, China. There is a second variety which has yellow skin, white flesh and tastes like a moist pear.
** Korean melon, a yellow melon with white lines running across the fruit and white inside. Can be crisp and slightly sweet or juicy when left to ripen longer.
** Tiger melon, an orange, yellow and black striped melon from Turkey with a soft pulp.
* C. melo reticulatus, true muskmelons, with netted skin.
** North American cantaloupe, distinct from the European cantaloupe, with the net-like skin pattern common to other C. melo reticulatus varieties.
** Galia, small and very juicy with either faint green or rosy pink flesh.
** Sharlyn melons, with taste between honeydew and cantaloupes, netted skin, greenish-orange rind, and white flesh.
* C. melo agrestis, Wilder melon cultivars, with smooth skin, and tart or bland taste. Often confused with cucumbers.
* C. melo conomon, Conomon Melons, Pickling Melons, with smooth skin, and ranging from tart or bland taste to mild sweetness in Korean Melon.Oriental Pickling melon, Korean Melon. Closely related to wilder melons.
* Modern crossbred varieties, e.g. Crenshaw, Crane.
Production
In 2018, world production of melons was 27 million tonnes, led by China with 46% of the total. Turkey, Iran, and India each produced more than 1 million tonnes.
