Watermelon

A large melon of the genus Citrullus, with a very high water content and flesh that can be pink, red, white or yellowish orange. They are originally from Africa, but have been grown in the Middle East and the warmer parts of Russia for thousands of years. They reached southern Europe with the Moors early in the Christian era. Watermelons arrived in China about 1,000 years ago and came to the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific Islands with European colonists. In Naples, there's a saying that watermelon is "the only way to eat, drink and wash your face at the same time."

Watermelons have been common in Europe, Asia and Africa for so long that botanists were not quite sure where they had originated until the middle of the 19th century. Famed explorer Dr. David Livingstone settled the question when he discovered watermelons growing wild in the remote interior region of Africa, where they were used as canteens, stored as a source of water (watermelons are 91 percent water) for the dry seasons and taken on long journeys, when water might not be available. Today, the watermelon is grown in most tropical countries and in the warmer parts of America and Europe; it's available from summer to early autumn. It can be either round or oblong, and when ripe, the skin should be a rich, dark green or green variegated with dark gray. For vine-ripened sweetness, the stem end should be slightly sunken and calloused.

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