Melon, Canteloupe, Honey-dew
A tropical plant. It is not suited to places with high rainfall. They suit hot dry places with a fertile well drained soil. It needs a sheltered sunny position. It is drought and frost tender. A temperature range of 24-28°C is best but much higher temperatures is tolerated. Mostly they are grown below 500 m altitude in the tropics. In PNG it has been recorded up to 2,100 m above sea level. A pH of 6-6.7 is best. Acid soils are not suitable. It can grow in deserts and arid places. It suits hardiness zones 9-12.
Also known as:
Akobokobo, Akolil, Andawk, Atimon, 'Atiu, Bangi, Blewah, Bluwak, Budamakaya, Chibar, Chibbarh, Chibhar, Chiratu, Chukkangai, Gagalum, Itimon, Kaachri, Kachri, Karal, Karitu, Kayimbe, Kharbuja, Kharbujadosa, Kharmuj, Kothimdu, Luwinbe, Madhupaka, Meble, Milon, Mitero, Mpombe, Mulampazham, Musk-melon, Putzakova, Sane, Semangka londo, Syrian cucumber, Taena-thai, Teeng laay, Thakwa-hmwe, Thoithe suri, Thumattikai, Trasak srow, Ulkuta, Wunbut
Synonyms
- Cucumis acidus Jacq.
- Cucumis callosus (Rottle.) Cong.
- and many others
Edible Portion
- Fruit, Seeds, Leaves, Vegetable
Where does Melon grow?
Found in: Afghanistan, Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Angola, Arabia, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Egypt, Equatorial-Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Liberia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, SE Asia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, United States, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Notes: There are about 25 Cucumis species.
Status: Only occasionally seen in Papua New Guinea. They are common in Africa both wild and cultivated.
Growing Melon, Canteloupe, Honey-dew
Cultivation: They are grown from seed. The seeds are planted about 1-4 cm deep. Plants need to be 1-2 m apart. Seedlings can be transplanted when about 10-15 cm high.
Edible Uses: The ripe fruit are eaten raw. They are also dried, candied and made into jams, jellies and preserves. The seeds are sometimes eaten. They are roasted. The seeds are blended with fruit juice to form a drink. Sometimes the immature fruit are cooked as a vegetable. The seeds contain an edible light oil. The young leaves are eaten as a potherb.
Production: Plants are ready 3-4 months after planting. Yields of 20 kg per10 sq m is average.
Nutrition Info
per 100g edible portionEdible Part | Energy (kcal) | Protein (g) | Iron (mg) | Vitamin A (ug) | Vitamin c (mg) | Zinc (mg) | % Water |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fruit | 26 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 300 | 30 | 0.2 | 93 |
Leaves | 41 | 4.2 | - | 72 | - | - | 85 |
Seed | 555 | 15.8 | - | - | - | - | 7 |
Melon, Canteloupe, Honey-dew Photos
References
Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 148 and p 149 (As Cucumis pubescens)
Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 208
Arellanes, Y., et al, 2013, Influence of traditional markets on plant management in the Tehuacan Valley. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 9:38
Asfaw, Z. and Tadesse, M., 2001, Prospects for Sustainable Use and Development of Wild Food Plants in Ethiopia. Economic Botany, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 47-62
Barrau, J., 1976, Subsistence Agriculture in Melanesia. Bernice P. Bishop Museu, Bulletin 219 Honolulu Hawaii. Kraus reprint. p 56
Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database."http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
Bernholt, H. et al, 2009, Plant species richness and diversity in urban and peri-urban gardens of Niamey, Niger. Agroforestry Systems 77:159-179
Bianchini, F., Corbetta, F., and Pistoia, M., 1975, Fruits of the Earth. Cassell. p 140
Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 305
Brouk, B., 1975, Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, London. p 186
Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 707
Cobley, L.S. (rev. Steele, W.M.) 2nd Ed., 1976, An Introduction to the Botany of Tropical Crops. Longmans. p 138
Crawford, I. M., 1982, Traditional Aboriginal Plant Resources in the Kalumburu Area: Aspects in Ethno-economics. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement No. 15
Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 64 (As Cucumis pubescens)
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 440
Ethnobotany of Karbis. Chapter 4 in p 104
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 85
FAO, 1988, Traditional Food Plants, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 42. FAO Rome p 228
Flowerdew, B., 2000, Complete Fruit Book. Kyle Cathie Ltd., London. p 118
Food Composition Tables for the Near East. http://www/fao.org/docrep No. 311 (As Cucumis chate)
Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 22
French, B.R., 1986, Food Plants of Papua New Guinea, A Compendium. Asia Pacific Science Foundation p 104
French, B.R., 2010, Food Plants of Solomon Islands. A Compendium. Food Plants International Inc. p 136
Garde, M., et al, 2003, A Preliminary List of Kundedjnjenghmi Plant Names. Northern Land Council. (Arnhem Land, Australia)
Ghosh, C. & Das A. P., 2011, Some useful and poisonous tea garden weeds from the Darjiling District of West Bengal, India. Pleione 5(1): 91 - 114
Goode, P., 1989, Edible Plants of Uganda. FAO p 36
Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 243
Harris, F. M. A. and Salisu Mohammed, 2003, Relying on nature: Wild Foods in Northern Nigeria. AMBIO Vol. 32 No. 1, p 27
Henty, E.E., 1980, Harmful Plants in Papua New Guinea. Botany Bulletin No 12. Division Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. p 43, Pl.13
Hu, Shiu-ying, 2005, Food Plants of China. The Chinese University Press. p 695
INFOODS:FAO/INFOODS Databases
Jahan, S. et al, 2011, Nutritional Profile of Some Tropical Fruits in Bangladesh: Specially Anti-Oxidant Vitamins and Minerals. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 10 No. 2
Japanese International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciencewww.jircas.affrc.go.jp/project/value_addition/Vegetables
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 72, 131
John, L., & Stevenson, V., 1979, The Complete Book of Fruit. Angus & Robertson p 191
Khan, D. & Shaukat, S.S., 2006, The Fruits of Pakistan: Diversity, Distribution, Trends of Production and Use. Int. J. Biol. Biotech., 3(3):463-499
Lembaga Biologi Nasional, 1977, Buah-Buahan, Balai Pustaka, Jakarta. p 24
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Low, T., 1991, Wild Food Plants of Australia. Australian Nature FieldGuide, Angus & Robertson. p 161
Lyle, S., 2006, Discovering fruit and nuts. Land Links. p 165
Macmillan, H.F. (Revised Barlow, H.S., et al) 1991, Tropical Planting and Gardening. Sixth edition. Malayan Nature Society. Kuala Lumpur. p 279
Majeed, M., et al, 2021, Gathered Wild Food Plants among Diverse Religious Groups in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. Foods 2021, 10, 594.
Manju, S., and Sundriyal, R. C., 2001, Wild Edible Plants of the Sikkim Humalaya: Nutritive Values of Selected Species. Economic Botany 55(3): 377-390
Medhi, P. & Borthakur, S. K., 2012, Phytoresources from North Cachur Hills of Assam -3: Edible plants sold at Hflong market. Indian Journal or Natural Products and Resources. 3(1) pp 84-109
Menninger, E.A., 1977, Edible Nuts of the World. Horticultural Books. Florida p 105
Murtem, G. & Chaudhrey, P., 2016, An ethnobotanical note on wild edible plants of Upper Eastern Himalaya, India. Brazilian Journal of Biological Sciences, 2016, v. 3, no. 5, p. 63-81
Norrington, L., & Campbell, C., 2001, Tropical Food Gardens. Bloomings Books. p 48
Ochse, J.J. et al, 1931, Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. Asher reprint. p 190
Omawale, 1973, Guyana's edible plants. Guyana University, Georgetown p 31
Paczkowska, G. & Chapman, A.R., 2000, The Western Australian Flora. A Descriptive Catalogue. Western Australian Herbarium. p 221
Paz, F. S., et al, 2021, Edible Fruit Plant Species in the Amazon Forest Rely Mostly on Bees and Beetles as Pollinators. Journal of Economic Entomology, XX(XX), 2021, 1–13
Phon, P., 2000, Plants used in Cambodia. © Pauline Dy Phon, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. p 182
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu/antilles/West Indies
Purseglove, J.W., 1968, Tropical Crops Dicotyledons, Longmans. p 110
Rashid, H. E., 1977, Geography of Bangladesh. Westview. p 346
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 16th April 2011]
Rubaihayo, E. B., Conservation and use of traditional vegetables in Uganda. Bioversity International.
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 49
Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793
Shah, G.L., 1984, Some economically important plant of Salsette Island near Bombay. J. Econ. Tax. Bot. Vol. 5 No. 4 pp 753-765 (As Cucumis callosus)
Sharma, B.B., 2005, Growing fruits and vegetables. Publications Division. Ministry of Information and broadcasting. India. p 174
Siemonsma, J. S. and Piluek, K. (Eds), 1994, Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 8 Vegetables. Prosea Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia, p 153
Singh, D. et al, 2014, Local wild plants from the Thar Desert for improved health and food security. in Promotion of Underutilized Indigenous Food Resources for Food Security and Nutrition in Asia and Pacific. FAO. Bangkok p 147 (As Cucumis callosus)
Small, E., 2009, Top 100 Food Plants. The world's most important culinary crops. NRC Research Press. p 347
Smith, K., 1998. Growing Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables. New Holland. p 13
Smith, N. M., 1991, Ethnobotanical Field Notes from the Northern Territory, Australia, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 14(1): 1-65
Smith, Nicholas et al. 1993, Ngarinyman Ethnobotany: Aboriginal Plant Use from the Victoria River Area Northern Australia. Northern Territory Botanical Bulletin No 16. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. p 18
Sp. pl. 1:1011. 1753
Teron, R. & Borthakur, S. K., 2016, Edible Medicines: An Exploration of Medicinal Plants in Dietary Practices of Karbi Tribal Population of Assam, Northeast India. In Mondal, N. & Sen, J.(Ed.) Nutrition and Health among tribal populations of India. p 150
Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 42
Thaman, R. R, 2016, The flora of Tuvalu. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 611. Smithsonian Institute p 80
Tindall, H.D., & Williams, J.T., 1977, Tropical Vegetables and their Genetic Resources, International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, p 43
Tindall, H.D., 1983, Vegetables in the tropics. Macmillan p. 156
Topp, J. M. W., 1988, An Annotated Check List of the Flora of Diego Garcia, British Ocean Territory. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 313
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Available: www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/econ.pl (10 April 2000)
Vael, L., 2015, Ethnobotanical study of the plant use in the natural landscape of two mestizo communities in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon. Universiteit Gent.
van der Vossen, H.A.M., El Tahir, I.M. & Oluoch, M.O., 2004. Cucumis melo L. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 15 October 2009.
Vasquez, R. and Gentry, A. H., 1989, Use and Misuse of Forest-harvested Fruits in the Iquitos Area. Conservation Biology 3(4): 350f
Vigilante, T., et al, 2013, Island country: Aboriginal connections, values and knowledge of the Western Kimberley islands in the context of an island biological survey. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 145-182
Walter, A. & Lebot, V., 2007, Gardens of Oceania. ACIAR Monograph No. 122. p 185
Walters, T. W., 1989, Historical Overview on Domesticated Plants in China with Special Emphasis on the Cucurbitaceae. Economic Botany 43(3): 297-313
Whitaker,T.W., & Bemis,W.P., 1979, Cucurbits, in Simmonds N.W.,(ed), Crop Plant Evolution. Longmans. London. p 64
Wightman, Glenn et al. 1992. Mudburra Ethnobotany: Aboriginal Plant Use from Kulumindini (Elliott) Northern Australia. Northern Territory Botanical Bulletin No 14. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. p 12.
Wightman, Glenn et al. 1994, Gurindji Ethnobotany: Aboriginal Plant Use from Daguragu Northern Australia. Northern Territory Botanical Bulletin No 18. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. p 18, 19.
Williamson, J., 2005, Useful Plants of Malawi. 3rd. Edition. Mdadzi Book Trust. p 85
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew