Citrullus is a genus of seven species of desert vines, among which Citrullus lanatus (the watermelon) is an important crop.

Taxonomy

Molecular data, including sequences from the original collection of Momordica lanata made near Cape Town by C. P. Thunberg in 1773, show that what Thunberg collected is not what has been called Citrullus lanatus, the domesticated watermelon, since the 1930s. Although this error only occurred in 1930 (Bailey, Gentes Herbarum 2: 180–186), it has been perpetuated in hundreds of papers on the watermelon. In addition, there is an older name for the watermelon, Citrullus battich <small>Forssk. (Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 167. Jun 1775)</small>, which would normally have the precedence over Momordica lanata <small>Thunberg (Prodr. Pl. Cap.: 13. 1794)</small>. To solve this problem, it has been proposed to conserve the name Citrullus lanatus with a new type to preserve the current sense of the name

Species

Citrullus consists of the following species and subspecies:

  • Citrullus amarus <small>Schrad.</small> – citron melon
  • Citrullus colocynthis <small>(L.) Schrad.</small> – colocynth
  • Citrullus ecirrhosus <small>Cogn.</small> – tendril-less melon
  • Citrullus lanatus <small>(Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai</small> – desert watermelon
  • Citrullus lanatus subsp. vulgaris var. cordophanus <small>(Ter-Avan.) Fursa</small>
  • Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus
  • Citrullus mucosospermus <small>(Fursa) Fursa</small> – egusi melon
  • Citrullus naudinianus <small>(Sond.) Hook.f.</small>
  • Citrullus rehmii

References

  • Chomicki, G., and S. S. Renner. 2015. Watermelon origin solved with molecular phylogenetics including Linnaean material: Another example of museomics. New Phytologist 205(2): 526-532