Watermelon

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus, Family Cucurbitaceae) is the fruit and plant of a vine-like (climber and trailer) herb originally from southern Africa. This flowering plant bears an accessory fruit of a type that botanists call a false berry. The watermelon fruit, loosely considered a type of melon (although not in the Genus Cucumis), has a smooth exterior rind and a juicy, sweet, usually red interior flesh. The species descriptor Citrullus vulgaris is sometimes, synonymously, used to refer to this plant (vulgaris, meaning "common" – Shosteck, 1974).

History

David Livingstone, the African explorer, described watermelon as abundant in the Kalahari Desert, where it is believed to have originated. There, it grows wild and is known as the Tsamma melon. It is not known when the plant was first cultivated, but the earliest watermelon harvest of record occurred in dynastic Egypt nearly 5,000 ago, and is depicted in hieroglyphs. The fruit was often placed in the tombs of pharaohs as sustenance in the afterlife.

By the 10th century A.D., watermelon was being cultivated in China, which is today the world's single largest watermelon producer. By the 13th century, Moorish invaders had introduced the fruit to Europe; and, according to John Mariani's The Dictionary of Amerian Food & Drink, "watermelon" made its first appearance in an English dictionary in 1615.

Agricultural aspects in the United States

African slaves introduced the watermelon into the American South United States, where it has been farmed for centuries. Until the 1940s, however, watermelon was a rarity for shoppers outside the Deep South. Melon lovers had to grow their own, which tended not to keep for long, purchase them from local grocers supplied by truck farmers, or from roadside produce stands.

Then a USDA plant breeder set out to produce a better watermelon. The result was "that gray melon from Charleston," formally called the Charleston Gray. Its oblong shape and hard rind made it easy to stack and ship. Its adaptability meant it could be grown over a wide geographical area. It produced high yields and was resistant to the most serious watermelon diseases: anthracnose and fusarium wilt. Best of all, it tasted terrific. Today, farmers in approximately 44 states in the U.S. grow watermelon commercially, and almost these varieties have some Charleston Gray in their lineage. Georgia, Florida, Texas, California and Arizona are the nation's largest watermelon producers.

This now common watermelon is large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons. There are also some smaller, spherical varieties of watermelon, both red- and yellow-fleshed. So-called "seedless" watermelons have far fewer, and softer, seeds than average, but generally contain at least a few pale seeds.

Compared with most fruits, the watermelon has a very high water content, and can be used to satisfy thirst. Watermelons seeds are roasted by Asians. Pickling watermelons is widespread in Russia, and pickled watermelon rind is also popular in the West.

For commercial plantings, one beehive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is the minimum recommendation by the US Department of Agriculture for pollination of conventional seeded varieties. Seedless hybrids have sterile pollen and pollinizer rows of varieties with viable pollen must also be planted, and the pollinator density increased to three hives per acre (1,300 m² per hive).

Watermelon connotations

The watermelon slice is striking and unmistakable in appearance. In former times, African Americans were depicted in racist caricatures as being inordinately fond of watermelon. The image of the watermelon, allusions to eating watermelon, and so forth, still may be seen as offensive. The historical perspective is that watermelons are native to Africa, and their seeds and culture were brought to the US, and taught by Africans.

Watermelon is also a term used to describe left-wing Greens, in that they are 'green on the outside, red on the inside'.

Art from the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead – October 31-November 2) commonly depicts watermelons being eaten by the dead or shown in close conjunction with the dead. This theme appears regularly on ceramics and in other art from the holiday.

See also

• List of fruits
• Vampire watermelon

Reference

• Shosteck, Robt. 1974. Flowers and Plants. An International Lexicon with Biographical Notes. Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., New York. 329 p.
• Citrullus lanatus (Watermelon, Tsamma) – Iziko Museums of Cape Town Retrieved, 15 March 2005.