The watermelon is an annual that has a prostrate or climbing habit. Stems are up to 3 metres (10 feet) long and new growth has yellow or brown hairs. Leaves are 60 to 200 millimetres (2+1⁄4 to 7+3⁄4 inches) long and 40 to 150 … See more

Watermelons were originally cultivated for their high water content and stored to be eaten during dry seasons, as a source of both food and water. Watermelon seeds were found in the See more

Nutrition
Watermelon fruit is 91% water, contains 6% sugars, and is low in fat (table).
In a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) serving, watermelon fruit supplies 125 kilojoules (30 kilocalories) of food energy and low amounts of See more

The sweet watermelon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and given the name Cucurbita citrullus. It was reassigned to the genus Citrullus in 1836, under the replacement name Citrullus vulgaris, by the German botanist Heinrich Adolf Schrader See more

A melon from the Kordofan region of Sudan – the kordofan melon – may be the progenitor of the modern, domesticated watermelon. The kordofan melon shares with the domestic watermelon loss of the bitterness gene while maintaining a sweet taste, unlike other … See more

A number of cultivar groups have been identified:
Citroides group
(syn. C. lanatus … See more

Culinary
Watermelon is a sweet, commonly consumed fruit of summer, usually as fresh slices, diced in mixed fruit salads, or as juice. Watermelon … See more