Cucurbitaceae |
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Citrullus lanatus (THUNB.) MATSUM. ET NAKAI. |
Citrullus ECKL. ET ZEYH. |
C. lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, Cat. Sem. Spor. Hort. Bot. Univ. Imp. Tokyo 30 (1916). Syn: Momordica lanataThunb., Prodr. Fl. Cap. 13 (1794); Cucurbita citrullus L., Sp. PI. 1010 (1753); Citrullus vulgaris Eckl. & Zeyh., Enum. 279 (1836); Colocynthis citrullus (L.) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PL 1:256 (1891); Citrullus aedulis Pang, in Bull. Appl. Bot. PL Breed. (Leningrad) 23(3): 44 (1930). Trailing annual herb with softly-hairy stems. Leaves ovate or elongate-ovate, 6-20 x 3.5-19 cm, deeply 3-5(-7)-lobed, the lobes usually ± pinnately lobulate. Petals yellow, 7-16 x 5-10 mm. Fruits ellipsoid or subglobose, 10-30 cm diam. (or larger), green, often mottled; pulp usually not bitter, often reddish. Seeds ovate, usually dark-coloured, often larger than in preceding species. Fl. 6-9. Cultivated, sometimes subspontaneous. Type: South Africa, Thunberg (holo. UPS!). A2(E) Istanbul: Kağithane, 7 ix 1917, Azn.! Djindéré, Azn. 902! C5 Içel: Mersin, Baytop 16786! Native of S.W. Africa, elsewhere only in cultivation or as an escape. According to Zhukovsky (p. 525) and Pangalo in Zhukovsky (pp. 548-551), widely cultivated in Turkey (wafer melon-in Turkish, 'karpuz'). |