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Cucumis melo

Melon

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Melon, Muskmelon, Cantaloupe, Casaba, Winter Melon, Honeydew Melon

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - India

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food (Fruit 0+)

KEY FEATURES: An annual with simple trendrils and soft fruit. LEAVES with obtuse lobes, xxxx. FLOWERS, single-sexed, bell-like, 5 oval lobes, yellow, 5-lobed; male with 3 stamens; females style divides into 3. FRUIT without pustules, ovoid to oblong, 4-100cm long.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) fruit has scattered pustules each having a clear bristle (vs. no pustules), fruit-pulp pale green (vs. white to orange-red); leaves with sharp lobes (vs. obtuse lobes). Pumpkins/Marrows (Cucurbita pepo) have branched tendrils (vs. simple).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present?
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
		??				-		-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Cucumis melo Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Cucumis acidus; Cucumis pubescens

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Violales; CUCURBITACEAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: ACSm abo intro to much of Pacific, an noted in Tahiti on Cook's first voyage (ACSm).

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.811 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.382 Tropica
p.2/683 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.281 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.103 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.388e Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zB02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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