Citrullus
Citrullus is a genus of seven species of desert vines, among which Citrullus lanatus is an important crop.
Taxonomy
Molecular data, including sequences from the original collection of Momordica lanata made near Cape Town by C. P. Thunberg in 1773, show that what Thunberg collected is not what has been called Citrullus lanatus, the domesticated watermelon, since the 1930s. Although this error only occurred in 1930, it has been perpetuated in hundreds of papers on the watermelon. In addition, there is an older name for the watermelon, Citrullus battich Forssk., which would normally have the precedence over Momordica lanata Thunberg. To solve this problem, it has been proposed to conserve the name Citrullus lanatus with a new type to preserve the current sense of the nameSpecies
Citrullus consists of the following species and subspecies:- Citrullus amarus Schrad. – citron melon
- Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. – colocynth
- Citrullus ecirrhosus Cogn. – tendril-less melon
- Citrullus lanatus Matsum. & Nakai – desert watermelon
- *Citrullus lanatus subsp. vulgaris var. cordophanus Fursa
- *Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus
- Citrullus mucosospermus Fursa – egusi melon
- Citrullus naudinianus Hook.f.
- ''Citrullus rehmii''