Melon and melon are the same plant, melon is a melon alias, melon alias: sweet melon, cantaloupe, white melon, Wallace melon, for the cucurbit family annual trailing herbs.

Chinese melon germplasm resources, cultivation and domestication of a long history, according to evidence at least in 3000 years. The species for China's earliest use of melons for fruit, "Poetry" and other ancient texts, excavated materials such as the Mawangdui female corpse stomach has been common, Jia Si Fo "Qimin Yaojutsu" called small melon, as opposed to the ancient winter melon (big melon).

Because this species has been cultivated for a long time, there are many varieties, fruit shape, color, size and flavor also varies according to varieties, horticulture is divided into dozens of strains, such as the common melon, cantaloupe, white orchid melon, etc. are different strains. The fruit of this species is an important fruit in the summer; the whole herb is used medicinally, and has the effect of removing inflammation and toxicity, inducing vomiting, removing dampness, and reducing jaundice.

Temperate to tropical regions of the world are also widely cultivated. At present there are several cultivars in the world, mainly in central Asia, west Asia, country, western Europe, North America, North Africa and Japan. Melon classification, there are many ways. Our country according to the commonly used agro-biological classification, the melon is divided into thick-skinned and thin-skinned two systems.

Expanded Information:

Melons are rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates, malic acid, vitamins, beet eggplant, crude fibers and minerals. Melon pulp raw food, quench thirst and clear dryness, can eliminate bad breath, but the melon is toxic, raw food is too much will be poisoned. Children drink its juice, to prevent chondromalacia has a certain effect.

In addition, melon contains the enzyme can be insoluble protein into soluble protein for kidney absorption. Melon contains cucurbitacin B, can significantly increase the reserves of glycogen in the liver, can promptly supplement the brain and blood glucose concentration, the human body's energy has a significant complementary effect.

The main driving force for the evolution of cultivated melon plants is artificial selection. In the long process of evolution, the main trait for which human beings have selected melons is the brix (sugar content) of the fruit. We can roughly categorize the existing melon variants around the world into 2 groups: low sugar and high sugar. The evolutionary direction of melon plants has been mainly along the lines of low sugar → high sugar.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Melon