Citrullus lanatus

Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumura et Nakai (syn.: C. vulgaris Schrad. ex Eckl. et Zeyh., Colocynthis citrullus (L.) O. Kuntze, Cucurbita lanatus L., Cucumis citrullus (L.) Ser., Momordica lanata Thunb.) (SW-Afr.) – A regular but always ephemeral food refuse alien (from discarded watermelon seeds). First recorded in 1908 near Ensival and at present seen most years (although much rarer than Cucurbita spec. and Cucumis spec.). Most often recorded on dumps but also sometimes on river banks, for instance along river Maas and Vesdre.

Hetzel & Ullmann (1995) described a very characteristic Citrullus lanatus-Solanum lycopersicum association from German dump sites.

The usual taxon in cultivation appears to be subsp. vulgaris (Schrad. ex Eckl. et Zeyh.) Fursa (Jäger & al. 2008, Applequist 2016).

Selected literature:


Applequist W.L. (2016) Report of the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants: 67. Taxon 65(1): 169-182. [available online at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/iapt/tax/2016/00000065/00000001...

Fursa T.B. (1981) Intraspecific classification of water-melon under cultivation. Kulturpflanze 29: 297-300 .

Hetzel G. & Ullmann I. (1995) Die Citrullus lanatus-Solanum lycopersicum-Gesellschaft, eine neogene Zönose der Mülldeponien und Kläranlagen. Tuexenia 15: 437-445.

Jäger E.J., Ebel F., Hanelt P. & Müller G. (eds.) (2008) Rothmaler Band 5. Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Krautige Zier- und Nutzpflanzen. Springer Verlag, Berlin: 880 p.

Jung K.-D. (2001) Kurioses aus Darmstadt: Eine fruchtende Wassermelone (Citrullus lanatus [Thunb.] Matsumara et Nakai) in einer Baumscheibe. Hessische Floristische Briefe 50(4): 96.

Maheshwari J.K. (1978) Nomenclatural revision of some cultivated watermelons. Indian J. Forest. 1(3): 179-181.

Nesom G. (2011) Towards consistency of taxonomic rank in wild/domesticated Cucurbitaceae. Phytoneuron 2011-13: 1-33. [available online at: http://www.phytoneuron.net/PhytoN-CucurbConsistency.pdf]

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith