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Melons are tasty and beautiful fruits with many types of Melon that grow on vines sprawling across the ground. Their world of them is vast, confusing, and interesting. This article, Garden How will give you all of the types of Melon. Let’s keeping read with us to learn more.
What is the origin of Melon?
Melon belongs to the group of fragrant Melons Cucumis melo L. is an important agricultural crop widely grown in the world. Also, the genus Cucumis belongs to the subgenus Melo. Different species have fruit morphology variations in characteristics such as size, shape, color, texture, flavor, and nutrient composition. Therefore, C. Melo becomes the most diverse species in the genus Cucumis.
Extensive literature is also found in ancient Chinese writings from around 2000 BC (Walters, 1989). Panglao (1929) suggests that unsweetened Melons were known during the Roman period. Also, people imported them from Persia or travelers’ luggage, causing them to appear in Europe around the 13th century
Linné reportedly made the initial discovery of the melon in 1753, according to Milind and Kulwant (2011). It belongs to the cucurbit family, which consists of 825 species and 118 genera. Although the origin of the melon is still up for debate, current investigations have shown beyond a doubt that it originated in southern and eastern Africa. Since 2000 BC, pineapple melons have been grown in China. Besides, worldwide, tropical and subtropical climates have supported a variety of domesticated and untamed plant species. The countries with the highest melons output currently are China and the US.
Thus, fragrant melon is an African and Indian fruit that was first cultivated by the Egyptians, then by the Greeks and Romans. Melons are currently grown all over the world.
How many types of Melon?
According to the authors
Grebenscikov (1953), Jeffrey (1980), Zohary (1983), and Kirkbride (1993), C. Melo species is divided into two subspecies: ssp. Melo and ssp. Agrestis.
According to the above authors, both subspecies include wild forms and wild forms of ssp. Melo is similar to C. Trigonus Boiss and C. Callosus (Stepansky et al., 1999)
In 1753 Linné named the genus Cucumis and described five cultivated species of Melons. Later, Naudin (1859), who devised a classification system based on a living collection of 2000 specimens, united those taxa into a single species, Cucumis melo L. Besides, the foundation for all following research was Naudin’s classification of melons into ten kinds. At the Vavilov Institute, Pangalo (1929) personally examined 3000 specimens and proposed a more thorough classification scheme based on the concept of homology sequences.
Classification of Melons according to Pangalo (1929), Grebenscikov (1953), Naudin (1959), Hammer et al. (1986), Munger and Robinson (1991) C. Melo is divided into 7 varieties:
C. melo var. agrestis:
It is a wild, unisexual variety of the same origin in Africa and Asian countries. Thin stem, inedible fruit, small seeds.
C. melo var. cantalupensis:
Medium or large fruit, rind smooth or reticulated or scaly. Fruity, sweet taste. Besides, unisexual flowers of the same base, and ovary hairy. Varieties of Galia, Ananas, and Charentais belong to this category.
C. melo var. inodorus:
It is a large, non-fragrant Melon with soft, thick, or lumpy skin. Includes Asian and Spanish dessert Melons such as Honeydew, and Casaba. Usually unisexual, with hairy ovary.
C. melo var. flexuosus:
Long, non-sweet fruit that, when unripe, is eaten like a cucumber. Found in the Middle East and Asia. It is a bisexual flower.
C. melo var. conomon:
It is a Far Eastern variety, and the flesh is white and soft. The skin is thin and can be salted or eaten fresh, and the sweet crunchy fruit can be eaten with the peel. Unisexual plant with the same stem with thorny leaves.
C. melo var. chito and dudaim:
Described by Naudin, but grouped together by Munger and Robinson. As the wild form of America, small size plums, and fragrant fruit, can be used for pickling, hermaphroditic flowers, and hairy ovary. Also, they grew as ornamental in the garden.
C. melo var. momordica:
Unisexual vines of the same root, ovary with fine hairs, fruit not sweet, peel thin and cracked when ripe.
According to the classification of the encyclopedia:
Melons of the genus Cucumis are edible fruits. However, only a few edible Melons of the species Cucumis melo L.
C. metuliferus (Melon):
It is a traditional food of Africa, with thorns. It is also now grown in California, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand.
Melo: Includes the following forms:
C. melo cantalupensis:
It has a rough, lumpy shell, with no mesh. Include:
- European cantaloupe: Lightly veined, pale green rind, introduced in the 18th century to Cantalupo, Sabina, Italy by the papal gardener.
- Persian Melon: A large Melon with dark green, reticulated skin.
C. Melo inodorus
It includes the following forms:
- Korean Melon: A yellow Melon with white lines that run across the fruit, the flesh of the fruit is white. Also, their fruit is so crunchy, slightly sweet, or sweeter when fully ripe.
- Canary Melon: A large, bright yellow Melon with light green to white flesh.
- Casaba Melon: The skin is smooth, grooved, and bright yellow. Moreover, this Melon is less flavorful than the others, but it takes longer to ripen.
- Hami Melon: Originated from Hami, Xinjiang, China. The flesh is crispy and sweet.
- Honeydew Melon: Sweet, green fruit, grown in Lanzhou, China. In fact, there is another variety with yellow skin, white flesh, and a pear-like taste.
- Kolkhoznitsa Melon: With smooth, yellow skin, white flesh, and dense intestine.
- Piel de Sapo Melon (toad skin) or Santa Claus Melon: Has a mottled green rind, and white, sweet flesh.
- Cantaloupe: With round, smooth, white fruit.
- Tiger Melon: A Turkish Melon, with black, yellow, and orange stripes, with soft flesh.
- Japanese Melons including Sprite Melons.
C. Melo reticulatus
It is a cantaloupe, including:
- North American cantaloupe: A North American Melon that is different from the European variety. This form is more reticulate than other species of the same C. Melo reticulatus
- Galia (or Ogen) Melon: Small, very sweet, pink, or light green flesh.
- Sharlyn Melon: Taste between honeydew and cantaloupe, rind has mesh, greenish orange color, and white flesh.
What are the modern Melon varieties?
After giving you a lot of types of Melon, we will provide you with the Melon varieties. Hybrids between the above types, such as Crenshaw (Casaba × Persian), and Crane (Japanese × NA cantaloupe).
Final Thoughts about kinds of Melon
In a nutshell, Garden How provided you with types of Melon as well as some features of them. Typically, Melons are sweet rather than earthy. Moreover, most Melons are a fantastic source of vitamin A and vitamin C, and you likely have tried a handful of Melon varieties from your local grocery store. Visit gardenhow.net to learn more about Asparagus. Thank you for taking the time to read this!