Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai, Cucurbitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Citrullus aedulis Pangalo, Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: chandia

English: egusi, egusi watermelon, watermelon, wild melon

French: melon d'eau, pastique

I-Kiribati: te meren

Maori (Cook Islands): merēni

Niuean: meleni

Palauan: sandiang, suik

Samoan: meleni, meleni

Spanish: albudeca, sandia

Tahitian: merēni, mereni Tahiti

Tongan: meleni

Tongarevan (spoken): melēni

Tongarevan (written): merēni

Tuvaluan: meleni

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Annual herbaceous villous creeper, prostrate.  Leaves 8-20 cm long, scabrid, deeply pinnatifed, the lobes again pinnately lobes; pubescence harsh; tendrils bifid, pubescent; flowers axillary, short-pedicellate; male flowers greenish, 1.5 cm long; female flowers longer-pedunculate, 1.5 cm long; fruit large rounded or oblong (to 25 cm diam. or more) green or patterned, flesh red, [rarely yellow], watery, sweet; seeds black, flattened, 4-6 mm long, sometimes white-mottled"  (Stone, 1970; p. 562).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "cultivated...and also sparingly naturalized in waste places" (Smith, 1981; p. 678). In New Caledonia, "cultivée aujourd'hui sur une échelle assez importante (environs de Nouméa et côte Ouest); parfois spontané dans des lieux incultes" (MacKee, 1994; p. 46).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Indigenous in tropical and subtropical Africa, early introduced into Mediterranean areas and Indi, and now widespread in cultivation and frequently naturalized" (Smith, 1981; p. 678).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 49) Var. caffrorum
Cook Islands Northern Cook Islands	Penrhyn (Tongareva) Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Aitutaki Atoll	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcan Sierra Negra	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Santiago Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Tol Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 18) ?
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Ulithi Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 678) Sparingly naturalized.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maupiti (Maurua) Island	introduced cultivated	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1987) (p. 50) Voucher cited: Fosberg 64851 (US)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 92) Voucher cited: Moore 572
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 92) Voucher cited: Grant 4567
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tetiaroa Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 47) Var. caffrorum (Alef.) Fosberg
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tupai (Tubai) Island	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M.-H. (1983) (p. 21) As Citrullus vulgaris var. caffrorum (Alet.) Fosberg
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Takapoto Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M-H. (1983) (p. 30)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 562)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 569) Garden escapes.
Kiribati Kiribati	Kiribati (Republic of)	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Kiribati Line Islands	Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Wester, Lyndon (1985) (p. 32)
Kiribati Phoenix Islands	Kanton Island	introduced	Luomala, Katharine (1951) (p. 174)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Enewetak (Ãnewetak) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Enewetak (Ãnewetak) Atoll	introduced	St. John, Harold (1960) (p. 333) Persisting from cultivation.
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Enewetak (Ãnewetak) Atoll	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R. (1955) (p. 15) Voucher cited: Fosberg 24375 (US) Persisting from cultivation.
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 100) Not seen on this survey and may no longer be present.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 87)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176) Var. caffrorum
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 121)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Maré	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 45) Voucher cited: Däniker 3164
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 45) Voucher cited: MacKee 12320
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 45) Voucher cited: Germain s.n.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 77) Voucher cited: CHR 170271
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 114) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9797 (BISH) "Occasional plants occur spontaneously in waste areas".
Palau Palau (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 176)
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands	Pitcairn Island	introduced	St. John, H. (1987) (p. 52)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 58)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Johnston Atoll	Johnston Island	introduced cultivated	Amerson, A. Binion, Jr./Shelton, Philip C. (1976) (p. 60)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 89)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 594) "An escape from cultivation in waste places, rubbish dumps and near settlements, and in coastal sands".

Additional information:  Additional online information about Citrullus lanatus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Citrullus lanatus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Amerson, A. Binion, Jr./Shelton, Philip C. 1976. The natural history of Johnston Atoll. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 192. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 479 pp.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R. 1955. Northern Marshall Islands Expedition, 1951-1952. Land biota: vascular plants. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 39. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 22 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Otobed, D./Sachet, M.-H./Oliver, R. L./Powell, D. A./Canfield, J. E. 1980. Vascular plants of Palau with vernacular names. Department of Botany, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 43 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1987. Flora of Maupiti, Society Islands. The Smithsonian Institution. Atoll Research Bulletin 294:1-70.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Pohnpei. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 21 pp.

Luomala, Katharine. 1951. Plants of Canton Island, Phoenix Islands. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 20(11):157-174.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

Sachet, M-H. 1983. Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago: terrestrial vegetation and flora. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 277. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 41 pp. + photos.

Sachet, M.-H. 1983. Botanique de l'ile de Tupai, Iles de la Societe. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 276. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 26 pp. + photos.

Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. An ecological reconnaissance of Tetiaroa Atoll, Society Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 275. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 67 pp. + photos.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

St. John, H. 1987. An account of the flora of Pitcairn Island with new Pandanus species. Honolulu, 65 pp.

St. John, Harold. 1960. Flora of Eniwetok Atoll. Pacific Science 14(4):313-336.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R. 1987. Plants of Kiribati: a listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Res. Bull. 296:1-42.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Wester, Lyndon. 1985. Checklist of the vascular plants of the northern Line Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Reseach Bulletin 287:1-38.

Whistler, W. A. 1990. Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands: The plants, their Maori names, and their uses. Allertonia 5(4):347-424.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.

Wiggins, I. L./Porter, D. M. 1971. Flora of the Galapágos Islands. Stanford University Press. 998 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1945. Plants of the Manua Islands. Bishop Mus. Bull. 184. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 73 pp.