Watermelon

1. Watermelon's official name is Citrullus lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitacae and it is a vegetable. It is related to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash. 2. Early explorers used watermelons as canteens. 3. Every part of a watermelon is edible, including seeds and rind. 4. Over 1,200 varieties of watermelon is grwn worldwide. 5. They have square watermelons in Japan.
It is in the squash family.

Watermelon was traced back to Africa.

Raccoons and coyotes love watermelon. Coons will dig a small round hole in the melon about 2 inches in diameter and scoop out the entire inside of the melon.

Watermelons are 90-94% water

If you like to drink, carve a hole in the top of the melon and pour in rum and then scoop melon balls.

• Cut It Up And Eat It
• Take The Green Off And Eat The Pink Inside
• Take The Green Off And Use The Pink For A Desert Or Special Dish

Watermelon is called Watermelon because its really juicy.

Twi-warfan says:

photo courtesy of USDA-ARS

People have loved watermelon throughout the world for centuries. Egyptians grew watermelons more than 5,000 years ago, decorating wall paintings with watermelon. From Egypt, watermelon's popularity grew as traders began selling seeds along Mediterranean trade routes. By the 10th century, watermelon made its way into China and by the 13th century, the Moors introduced watermelon into southern Europe. European colonists and African slaves are credited with bringing watermelon to North America. President Thomas Jefferson grew watermelons in Virginia and boasted they were sweeter than their counterparts in Paris. During the Civil War, the Confederate Army boiled down watermelon as a source of sugar and molasses. Modern varieties of the watermelon are derived from the native African vine Citrullus lanatus (or C. vulgaris). Cultivated for thousands of years in the Nile Valley, this species still grows wild in the arid interior where it supplies native people with water during drought seasons. Wild watermelons, called citron in Africa, have a spherical, striped fruit, and white, slightly bitter or bland flesh. The pale flesh tastes like the rind of a typical watermelon. The citron is also called "preserving melon" because the fruit rind is used in preserves, jellies and to make pickles or conserves. Because of its high pectin content, it is added to fruit juices to make them jell more rapidly. One plant may produce up to 100 fruits, which are commonly fed to livestock. A fairly recent development is the seedless watermelon. Most people find the seedless melons to be more convenient, and the melons seem to have a longer shelf life, since there are few or no seeds to serve as loci of deterioration. Seedless watermelons are created by crossbreeding watermelons with different numbers of chromosomes. Standard watermelon cultivars are diploid designated 2X, which means that they have one pair of each chromosome. These are crossed with a tetraploid variety, which has two pairs of each chromosome (4X). Since each parent contributes half of its genetic material to the offspring, the resulting hybrid is a triploid, with a chromosome number of 3X. The seeds from this cross-breeding will germinate and grow into a plant that can bears flowers, but the flowers will not produce viable sperm-bearing pollen or eggs because of the odd number of chromosome sets. Because of this, seeds are not usually formed. Since seedless watermelons are self-infertile, a standard diploid variety is planted along with the seedless variety, so that the flowers can be fertilized. The normal cultivar chosen usually has a different rind color or pattern from the seedless variety, so that the two can be easily differentiated at harvest time. When home gardeners buy a packet of seedless watermelon seeds, they get two kinds of seeds, one for the fertile diploid plant and one for the sterile triploid.

photo courtesy of Oregon State University

Mark Twain once said that watermelon was "chief of the world's luxuries, king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat." United States Department of Agriculture statistics show that Americans ate 17.4 pounds of watermelon per person in 1996. This is the highest consumption level recorded since 1958, when the average American ate 18.2 pounds of watermelon. The top-producing states for 1996, according to the USDA are Texas, Georgia, California, Florida, Arizona, Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Although successful production depends greatly on the proper climatic conditions, honey bees play an important role in watermelon growth. The pollen of many members of the cucurbit family is heavy and sticky, and not transferred from one flower to another very effectively by the wind. Bees are essential for proper pollination to occur. When a seeded variety is close to harvest, the part of the rind touching the ground changes from white to pale yellow. In the U.S., most watermelons are harvested between April and October. All are hand-picked.

nutrition facts courtesy of the USDA

picture courtesy of Oregon State University

FDA standards released in 1996 show that watermelons have become more nutritious than they once were. A two-cup serving has 10 fewer calories and more Vitamin A, fiber, calcium and iron. Watermelon is a good source of lycopene, which, recent medical research suggests, may help protect against certain forms of cancer. At 92% water, watermelon is the perfect treat in hot weather, replenishing body fluids lost in exercise. A survey by the National Watermelon Promotion Board Consumer Market Research conducted in September of 1996 shows that consumers are interested in watermelon's nutritional value and believe watermelons are a healthy alternative to processed snacks for their children. A two-cup serving of watermelon contains 80 calories, two grams of dietary fiber, 25% of the daily value of vitamin C, 20% of the daily value of vitamin A, 25 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein.

info from:http://darwin.nmsu.edu/~molbio/plant/watermelon.html

they call it watermelon because it is a melon obviously but also because it has water put into it so its juicy

It has been shown that salt can block the bitter taste receptors on the tongue. This allows the sweet taste receptors to be more heightened by sweet. So while salt doesn't make the object sweeter by blocking some of the bitter taste buds he sweet taste buds are more active.