Citrullus

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Cucurbitales

Familia: Cucurbitaceae
Tribus: Benincaseae
Genus: Citrullus
Species: C. colocynthis – C. ecirrhosus – C. lanatus – C. mucosospermus – C. rehmii

Name

Citrullus Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh., Enum. Pl. Afr. Austral. 2: 279. (1836) nom. cons. against Colocynthis Mill. (1754)
Type species: Citrullus vulgaris Schrad. (1836) = Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai Cat. Sem. Spor. Hort. Bot. Univ. Imp. Tokyo 30, no. 854. (1916)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Anguria Jacq. Enum. Syst. Pl. 9, 31. (1760) nom. illeg.
Colocynthis Mill. Gard. Dict. Abr. (ed. 4) vol. 1. (1754) nom. rej. but Colocynthis cocolobus Schrad. may be a valid name (Tropicos 2022).

References

Schrader, H.A. (1836) Enumeratio Plantarum Africae Australis Extratropicae 2: 279. BHL

Links

Hassler, M. 2019. Citrullus. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec 22. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Citrullus in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Dec 22. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2014. Citrullus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 26 Aug 2014.
International Plant Names Index. 2014. Citrullus. Published online. Accessed: Aug 26 2014.

Vernacular names
العربية: حنظل
azərbaycanca: qarpız
беларуская: кавун
kaszëbsczi: kawón
čeština: lubenice
dansk: vandmelon-slægten
Ελληνικά: κίτρουλλος
English: Water Melons, Desert Vines
suomi: vesimelonit
français: Vignes du Désert
italiano: cocomero
日本語: スイカ属, 西瓜属, 水瓜属
lietuvių: arbūzas
latviešu: arbūzi
polski: arbuz, kawon
русский: арбуз
svenska: Vattenmelonssläktet
oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча: tarvuz
中文: 西瓜属

Citrullus is a genus of seven species of desert vines, among which Citrullus lanatus (the watermelon) 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 (Bailey, Gentes Herbarum 2: 180–186), it has been perpetuated in hundreds of papers on the watermelon. In addition, there is an older name for the watermelon, Citrullus battich Forssk. (Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 167. Jun 1775), which would normally have the precedence over Momordica lanata Thunberg (Prodr. Pl. Cap.: 13. 1794). 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 name [1]
Species

Citrullus consists of the following species and subspecies:[1][2]

Citrullus amarus Schrad. – citron melon
Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. – colocynth
Citrullus ecirrhosus Cogn. – tendril-less melon
Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai – desert watermelon
Citrullus lanatus subsp. vulgaris var. cordophanus (Ter-Avan.) Fursa
Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus
Citrullus mucosospermus (Fursa) Fursa – egusi melon
Citrullus naudinianus (Sond.) Hook.f.
Citrullus rehmii De Winter

References

Renner, Susanne S.; Sousa, Aretuza; Chomicki, Guillaume (30 November 2007). "Chromosome numbers, Sudanese wild forms, and classification of the watermelon genus Citrullus, with 50 names allocated to seven biological species" (PDF). Taxon. 66 (6): 1393–1405. doi:10.12705/666.7. ISSN 0040-0262. OCLC 7249727155. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
Achigan-Dako, Enoch G.; Avohou, Edgar S.; Linsoussi, Come; Ahanchede, Adam; Vodouhe, Raymond S.; Blattner, Frank R. (30 January 2015). "Phenetic characterization of Citrullus spp. (Cucurbitaceae) and differentiation of egusi-type (C. mucosospermus)". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 62 (8): 1159–1179. doi:10.1007/s10722-015-0220-z. Retrieved 2 July 2019.