Citron melon
The citron melon, Citrullus amarus, is a relative of the watermelon in the cucumber family. It grows in dry parts of sub-Saharan Africa, especially the Kalahari, and has fed people and animals for thousands of years.
The fruit looks like a small watermelon with white, dense flesh. It isn’t usually eaten raw today; it’s often pickled, made into fruit preserves, or used as cattle feed because it has a lot of pectin.
Citron melon has a long history in Africa, dating back to ancient Egypt. It’s still grown there and in other dry regions, and some people in South Africa eat it as Intyabontyi, either raw or cooked. Today it’s also grown elsewhere and is sometimes called pie melon in the southern United States. It has become an invasive wild plant in western Mexico.
The plant’s leaves start palm-shaped and become deeply lobed as they grow. The leaves are rough with visible white veins. The flowers are solitary and yellow. The fruit is small and round, with a light-and-dark green pattern and many seeds, and the taste is stronger than that of a typical watermelon.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:15 (CET).