Watermelon is a sprawling annual vine from Africa whose sweet, juicy fruit is about 91% water. Georgia and Florida are the top US producers, with California and Texas next, and seedless types now make up most of what Americans buy.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A trailing or climbing annual vine with stems up to about 10 ft (3 m) long and branching tendrils.
- Leaves
- Leaves are usually deeply cut into three main lobes.
- Flowers
- Yellow flowers; each plant bears separate male and female flowers, with the male flowers appearing first.
- Fruit
- Wild fruits are about 8 in (20 cm) across, while cultivated ones can top 2 ft (60 cm). The flesh is usually red or pink but can be orange, yellow, green, or white.
Look-alikes
Citron melonCitrullus amarus
Citron melon fruits are smaller and rounder, with whitish, hard flesh that tastes strong rather than sweet; they are used for pickles, preserves, and livestock feed.
Why they get mixed upIt is a close relative that was long classified as a form of watermelon, and in the southern Plains it is known as 'pie melon.'
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Farm fields
- Gardens
- Range
- Grown commercially in about 44 US states; Georgia and Florida together grow roughly 40% of the national crop, followed by California and Texas. In the US it is known mainly as a farm and garden crop.
- Preferred conditions
- Needs heat, full sun, and well-drained soil through a long warm season.
Growing it
- Care
- Growers often bring in honey bee hives, since the flowers need insects to carry pollen, and seedless varieties depend on it even more—about three hives per acre versus one for seeded types.
- Propagation
- Seedless watermelons grow from seed, which is sterile, so the fruit does not form hard black seeds.
Name and classification
- About the name
- The scientific name has a tangled history: Citrullus lanatus was first based on a bitter, wooly African melon that turned out to be the citron melon (Citrullus amarus). Since 2017 the name has been officially kept for the sweet watermelon. DNA studies point to Sudan as the place where watermelon was first domesticated.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The heaviest watermelon on record, a 'Carolina Cross' grown in Tennessee in 2013, weighed about 351 lb (159 kg).
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