Cucumis melo  L. Ð Melon  Ð Cucurbitaceae

With fruits ranging in size from a few inches long to 18 inches (10-45 cm), the honeydew melon , Cucumis melo , is our most important commercial melon.  An annual trailing vine, it may be of West African origin but has been cultivated in Asia for at least 3,000 years.  By the 16th century the principle thick-fleshed forms of the species had spread throughout the world.  It became an important food plant of the Hopi and Navaho of the Southwest.  Smooth, flat seeds up to a half-inch (12 mm) in length serve as easily punctured beads.

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