Are watermelon and melon berries or not, and why?
Many people have known this amazing fact since childhood: a watermelon is nothing more than a huge berry. Interestingly, melon, similar to it, is considered a fruit. However, this is not entirely true: the classifications of plants from different positions - agricultural, gastronomic and scientific - are confused.
In everyday life and cooking, the well-known classification “fruits-vegetables-berries-mushrooms” is accepted. It is in this form that children receive their first knowledge about the plant world. Typically, fruits include sweet fruits, and vegetables include savory ones, those that are suitable for salads. Berries are usually called small sweet and sour fruits, such as currants, gooseberries, and raspberries. With a scientific approach, it is necessary to reconsider this concept. We'll tell you whether a watermelon or a melon is considered a berry from a botanical point of view.
What is a fruit from a botany point of view?
When scientific facts penetrate everyday life, confusion begins. From a botany point of view, a tomato is close in structure to a currant, and cucumbers are similar to melon and zucchini. The version that watermelon is a huge berry has especially taken root among the people. According to scientific classification, this is not entirely true. To establish the truth, let us turn to a special section of botany - carpology. Its main task is to study the structure of fruits, methods and distribution area, and create a classification.
The fruit is the final phase of development of a fertilized flower. For plants, this is the reproductive organ in which seeds are formed and stored. The development of fruits may involve the ovary and other parts of the flower.The seeds are surrounded by a special tissue - the pericarp. A more understandable name is the pericarp, which is divided into three layers: exocarp (outer), mesocarp (middle), endocarp (inner). The last tissue that surrounds the seeds is the placenta.
A classic example of such a construction is the cherry, or drupe. Exocarp is a thin outer filmy shell, mesocarp is juicy pulp. An endocarp is a bone with a seed hidden inside.
There are several classifications of fruits according to different characteristics:
| By number of seeds | Single-seeded, multi-seeded |
| According to the structure of amniotic tissue | Dry and juicy |
| By seed extraction | Opening and non-opening |
There are also more complex classifications that take into account the evolutionary changes of plants.
Interesting. In many plants, during seed formation, the fruit contains an increased amount of acids and can be poisonous. This serves as additional protection against being eaten. Unripe watermelon is not only unsweetened, but also full of nitrogenous compounds that are dangerous to humans. As they mature, their concentration decreases.
Watermelon And melon belong to multi-seeded, juicy, indehiscent fruits. Varieties of juicy fruits with many seeds:
- Strawberry. Strawberries and strawberries are not considered berries from a scientific point of view. Their succulent part is a developed receptacle; on its outer side there are seeds with dry perikarya. They are called nuts, so in botany strawberries are considered a variety of the polynut model.
- polydrupe is a fruit consisting of many small fruits. The exocarp of each of them is a thin film. The mesocarp is juicy, and the endocarp is hard. Raspberries, blackberries, and stone fruits have this structure.
- Pomeranian is a fruit typical of citrus fruits. The outer layer is formed by glandular tissue that contains essential oils. The mesocarp is the white film under the skin, and the endocarp is the juicy segments.
- Apple – a characteristic fruit for apple trees. The outer layer is a tough skin. Medium – fleshy, juicy flesh. The lower one is cartilaginous tissue that forms a cavity with seeds.
- Berry - small fruits. Exocarp is a thin film. The juicy pulp is formed by the mesocarp or endocarp. The first type includes tomatoes, the second - gooseberries. The seeds are immersed in the pulp.
- Pumpkin - a fruit characteristic of the pumpkin family. A characteristic feature is the hard, leathery top layer - the exocarp. The lower layers are juicy and usually form a cavity with seeds in the center of the fruit.
Why is watermelon a berry, but melon is not? How legitimate is this point of view?
Watermelon has a hard exocarp, like most cucurbits.. However, the internal structure is different. The mesocarp of watermelon is a white layer that does not have a sweet taste and largely contains nitrogen compounds harmful to humans. The seeds are embedded in the endocarp, a red, sweet pulp in which sugars are formed. When eating watermelon, the seeds must be removed from the edible pulp. Despite this structural feature, the fruit is usually classified as a pumpkin.
Why is watermelon a berry, but melon is not? This version arose due to the structural features of the fruit. The main difference between plants: watermelon seeds are located in the pulp or the overgrown third layer of the pericarp - the endocarp, which is usually eaten. Melon seeds are located in the cavity in the center of the fruit; the sweet pulp makes up the middle layer of fruit tissue - the mesocarp.
Despite the fact that watermelon seeds are immersed in a juicy layer, which is typical for berries, other features characterize it as a pumpkin: thick peel, three distinct layers of pericarp, belonging to the pumpkin family.
What type of fruit is melon?
Pumpkins include melon and watermelon. However, they have important differences in structure. Melon fruits are a typical pumpkin. The top layer, the exocarp, is dense and leathery. Mesocarp is juicy and sweet. A small cavity is formed inside the fruit with seeds surrounded by a fleshy endocarp, the lower layer. When cutting the melon, the seeds can be quickly removed, leaving the edible part.
Interesting. The pumpkins we eat are indehiscent fruits. In nature, seeds are spread by animals or fall into the soil after the pulp and crust rot. However, there is one plant with dehiscent fruits. When the green cucumbers ripen, they shoot mucus and seeds several meters away.
What family do watermelon and melon belong to?
Both plants have similar structural features, growth and reproduction. In agriculture, they are called melons and use similar growing technologies.
About melon
In botany, melon is characterized as a herbaceous annual plant. It is part of the pumpkin family and belongs to the cucumber genus or Cucumis. Melon shoots are climbing with large leaves, in the axils of which there are tendrils. The plant needs hot weather for normal development.
Appearance of the plant, flowers, leaves and their arrangement resemble the familiar cucumber. The average daily temperature should be around 25-30°C. When the temperature drops to +15°C, growth and development slows down, complete death occurs at +3°C.
Interesting. The Guinness Book of Records records the size of the giant melon as 118 kg; it ripened in 1985 in the United States. The watermelon winner is constantly updated. Now it is a fetus weighing 122 kg.
The homeland of melon is Central Asia. Now it is cultivated all over the world in places with a suitable climate. In the middle zone, the plant is grown in greenhouses through seedlings.
Various varieties with different ripening periods have been developed. The fruits differ significantly in taste. Their weight varies from 3 to 15 kg. Melon is consumed not only fresh, but candied fruits are also made from it, jam is made, and pickled. IN melon pulpIn addition to sugars, it contains a large amount of vitamin C, pectins, carotid substances and minerals. The fresh product is used in dietary nutrition.
About watermelon
Watermelon is a separate genus of Citrullus, which belongs to the pumpkin family.. This is an annual herbaceous plant. The leaves are large and dissected. The length of the lashes reaches 5 m. Wild watermelons grow in the arid regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, varietal plants are cultivated throughout the world where there are suitable climatic conditions.
Reference. Watermelons and melons have tendrils. Their main purpose is not to lift the plant like a vine, but to cling to the soil. This protects the lashes from strong winds in desert and steppe conditions.
As a result of selection, varieties with yellow and white flesh. In addition to oval and round shapes, square and rectangular watermelons are grown in Asian countries. Such fruits are convenient for transportation. The taste of different varieties differs little. Watermelon pulp is almost 90% water and contains vitamins C, A, B, fiber, and minerals.
Interesting. Watermelon seeds were discovered during exploration of the Egyptian pyramids.Scientists have studied the DNA structure of ancient plants. As a result, two mutations were discovered over thousands of years. The first change was the preservation of lycopene, a substance that gives the pulp its scarlet color. The second is blocking the production of components that have a bitter taste.
Conclusion
Watermelon and cantaloupe are part of the same pumpkin family. Their relatives are pumpkin, cucumber, squash and squash. Their fruits are polyspermous. The amniotic tissue consists of three layers: a hard exocarp, a juicy mesocarp and a fibrous endocarp. The seeds are distributed in the third layer. This type of structure is called a pumpkin. Watermelon has a sweet pulp - this is the endocarp, in which the seeds are immersed, and melons, which is more convenient for consumption, have a juicy middle layer - the mesocarp. This is the main reason for separating fruits that are similar in structure and classifying watermelon as a berry.
From a botanical point of view, the question of whether these are fruits or berries is illegitimate. This classification is used in cooking and when teaching children the basics of knowledge about the world and nature. From this point of view, large and sweet fruits of watermelon and melon are more rightly classified as fruits.