Western Shanxi Watermelon

Western Shanxi Watermelon

　　   Watermelon (scientific name: Citrullus lanatus, English: Watermelon), belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and is native to Africa. It is a dicotyledonous flowering plant, shaped like a vine, with feathery leaves. The fruit it produces is a false fruit, falling under what botanists refer to as a false berry. The rind is smooth, green or yellow with patterns, while the flesh is juicy and red or yellow (rarely white).

It is an annual trailing herbaceous plant. The flesh is crisp, tender, sweet, and juicy, rich in mineral salts and various vitamins, making it a primary summer fruit for cooling down. Watermelon helps clear heat and relieve summer heat, and has auxiliary therapeutic effects on conditions such as nephritis, diabetes, and cystitis. The rind can be pickled, made into preserves, jams, and animal feed. The seeds contain up to 50% oil and can be pressed for oil, roasted, or used as an ingredient in pastries.

Characteristics: Watermelon has a taproot system, with the main root extending more than 1 meter deep. The root system is mainly distributed within the 20 cm–30 cm soil layer. The roots are thin and fragile, with weak regenerative ability and poor tolerance to transplanting. The young seedling stems are upright, elongating after the 4th to 5th node, and begin to sprawl after the 5th to 6th leaf. It is highly branched, capable of forming 3rd to 4th order lateral branches. Leaves are alternate, with deep, shallow, or entire margins. Flowers are unisexual but on the same plant, with male flowers appearing at the 3rd to 5th nodes of the main stem, and female flowers at the 5th to 7th nodes. A few bisexual flowers may appear during peak flowering. The flower corolla is yellow. The ovary is inferior with parietal placentation. Both male and female flowers have nectaries, are insect-pollinated, and bloom in the morning while closing in the afternoon. The fruit comes in various shapes such as round, oval, ellipsoid, and cylindrical. The surface may be smooth or ribbed, with skin colors ranging from greenish-white, green, dark green, blackish-green to black, sometimes with fine netting or stripes. The flesh color varies—milky white, light yellow, deep yellow, light red, or bright red. The texture can be firm or spongy. The seeds are flat, oval, or oblong, smooth or cracked. The seed coat may be white, light brown, brown, black, or tan, either solid-colored or mottled. Thousand-seed weight is 100 g–150 g for large-seeded types, 40 g–60 g for medium-seeded types, 20 g–25 g for small-seeded types, and 145 g–200 g for “seedless” (fruit-focused) types.