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Citrullus lanatus

Annual

HomeAnnualCitrullus lanatus

A weed of roadsides and open ground in desert areas.

Family: Cucurbitaceae
Height: 0.5 m / 2 ft
Sun
Light, Medium Soil
Dry to Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 3 of 5
Other Uses: 1 of 5

Native Habitat

Water Melon Citrullus lanatus native habitat is A weed of roadsides and open ground in desert areas.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw. A very refreshing fruit, it has a delicate sweetness with an extremely high water content, the fruit is often used as a refreshing drink. The unripe fruits are added to soups. A syrup can also be made from the juice. The fruit is a rich source of pectin, and can be added to pectin-low fruits when making jam. Pectin is said to protect the body against radiation. The fruit varies considerably in size from cultivar to cultivar, but can be up to 1 metre long and 40cm wide. A nutritional analysis is available. Leaves - cooked. Seed - raw or cooked. They can be roasted or ground into a powder and used with cereal flours when making bread, cakes etc, or added to soups and stews. The seed contains about 30% protein, 20 - 40% oil. An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

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