The watermellons are a tale older than time..
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a flowering plant species of
the
Cucurbitaceae
family.
A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it was originally
domesticated
in
Africa. It is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000
varieties.
Wild watermelon seeds have been found in the prehistoric Libyan site of Uan
Muhuggiag. There is also evidence from seeds in Pharaoh tombs of watermelon
cultivation in Ancient Egypt.
In the 7th century, watermelons were being cultivated in India, and by the 10th century had reached China, which is today the world's single largest watermelon producer. The Moors introduced the fruit into the Iberian Peninsula and there is evidence of it being cultivated in Córdoba in 961 and also in Seville in 1158. It spread northwards through southern Europe, perhaps limited in its advance by summer temperatures being insufficient for good yields. The fruit had begun appearing in European herbals by 1600, and was widely planted in Europe in the 17th century as a minor garden crop.
Watermelon, a fruit long correlated with laziness and uncleanliness. Seedless watermelons were initially developed in 1939 by Japanese scientists who were able to create seedless triploid hybrids which remained rare initially because they did not have sufficient disease resistance. Seedless watermelons became more popular in the 21st century, rising to nearly 85% of total watermelon sales in the United States in 2014.
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