lanatus) originated in Africa, where evidence indicates that it has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. Other species that have the same culinary role, and that are also called egusi include Cucumeropsis mannii and Lagenaria siceraria. The flesh is inedible, but the seeds are a valuable food source in Africa. lanatus) is a wild melon, similar in appearance to the watermelon. The immature melons are used as a culinary fruit (e.g., to make a distinctive fruit drink). The mature winter melon is a cooking vegetable that is widely used in Asia, especially in India. hispida) is the only member of the genus Benincasa. Melons by genus Horned melon Honeydew Benincasa Organizations like Native Seeds/SEARCH have made an effort to collect and preserve these and other heritage seeds. A number of Native American tribes in New Mexico, including Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Navajo, Santo Domingo and San Felipe, maintain a tradition of growing their own characteristic melon cultivars, derived from melons originally introduced by the Spanish. Early European settlers in the New World are recorded as growing honeydew and casaba melons as early as the 1600s. Melons were among the earliest plants to be domesticated in the Old World and among the first crop species brought by westerners to the New World. However, recent discoveries of melon seeds dated between 13 BCE in Nuragic sacred wells have shown that melons were first brought to Europe by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Melons are known to have been grown by the ancient Egyptians. Melons originated in Africa or in the hot valleys of Southwest Asia, especially Iran and India, from where they gradually began to appear in Europe toward the end of the Western Roman Empire. Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of cantaloupes. The word melon derives from Latin melopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων ( mēlopepōn), meaning 'melon', itself a compound of μῆλον ( mēlon), 'apple', treefruit ( of any kind)' and πέπων ( pepōn), amongst others 'a kind of gourd or melon'. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a ' pepo'. The word 'melon' can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Canary melon and cantaloupeĪ melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. For other uses, see Melon (disambiguation).

For melon in a narrow sense, see Cucumis melo. This article is about melon in a broad sense.

Canary honeydew melon