Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical savanna

Range

Sub-Saharan Africa

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

A sprawling annual vine native to northeastern Africa, watermelon produces the iconic striped green fruit whose flesh is over 90% water by weight. The entire fruit is edible — flesh, rind, and seeds — and wild ancestors still grow in the Kalahari Desert.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• Read on Wikipedia →
• View on iNaturalist →
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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Cucurbitales

Family

Cucurbitaceae

Genus

Citrullus

Species

Citrullus lanatus