Honeydew is a member of the melon family of fruits also known as honeydew melon. Honeydew melons are one of the popular varieties of melons which are available all year round. It comes with a firm and smooth skin. The greenish white skin of the melon will turns to yellowish white as it ripens. The sweet flesh of the melon is pale-green in color. The fruit can be round or oval and has a long shelf life. The sweet juicy flesh of a honeydew melon is one of summer supreme pleasures. Honeydew’s thick, juicy, sweet flesh is often eaten for dessert, and is commonly found in supermarkets across the world. Honeydew melons are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of potassium.
| Name | Honeydew |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Cucumis melo |
| Native | Originated in Africa |
| Common/English Name | American Melon, Fragrant Melon, Oriental Sweet Melon, Winter Melon. |
| Name in Other Languages | For Cucumis melo L. (Inodorous Group) Arabic : Shahed; Spanish : Melón Chinese : Yang Xiang Gua French : Melon Portuguese : Melão Japanese : Shiro Uri Malay : Tembikai Susu German : Melone For Cucumis melo L. (Inodorus Group) ‘Canary’ For Cucumis melo L. (Inodorus Group) ‘Crenshaw’ Cucumis melo L. (Inodorus Group) ‘Honey Dew’ |
| Plant Growth Habit | Annual, trailing, prostrate or rarely climbing herb. |
| Growing Climate | Grow best in full sun or diffused sun. |
| Soil | Prefers well-drained, dark, warm soil, with high organic matter content. Melons can be grown on heavier soils if well drained in which case raised beds may be beneficial. |
| Stem | Angular and hirsute, sometimes becoming circular and glabrous. |
| Leaf | Sub-orbicular to reniform, shallowly 5-7-lobed, lobes obtuse, both surfaces covered with soft villous hairs; size variable, 8–15 cm long and broad, smaller in wild forms. |
| Flower | Usually andromonoecious; male flowers fascicled, perfect or female flowers solitary. Male flowers with villous, campanulate calyx of 5 subulate lobes, 5 lobed sub-campanulate yellow corollas, 3 free stamens. Bisexual flowers are similar with pubescent globose, ovoid or cylindrical ovary, with short, simple style and 3–5 obtuse stigmas. |
| Fruit Shape & Size | Polymorphous, round, oval to oblong ellipsoid or football- shaped, (8)-15– 30 cm long |
| Fruit Color | Green while young turning to white and later yellow when they mature |
| Fruit Weight | 1.5–3.6 kg weight |
| Fruit Skin | Sleek |
| Flesh Color | Either white, pale greenish, yellow, or orange. |
| Taste | Sweet and succulent |
| Seed | Ovoid to ellipsoid, creamy white to brown. |
| Season | July through September |
| Major Nutrition | Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) 30.6 mg (34.00%) Carbohydrate 15.45 g (11.88%) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 0.15 mg (11.54%) Potassium, K 388 mg (8.26%) Vitamin B9 (Folate) 32 µg (8.00%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.065 mg (5.42%) Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) 0.264 mg (5.28%) Copper, Cu 0.041 mg (4.56%) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 0.711 mg (4.44%) Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 4.9 µg (4.08%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in 1 cup (170 gm) | 61 K cal |