Melothria scabra

Melothria scabra
Vine with fruit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Melothria
Species:
M. scabra
Binomial name
Melothria scabra
Synonyms[1]
  • Melothria costensis C.Jeffrey
  • Melothria donnell-smithii var. hirtella Cogn.
  • Melothria donnell-smithii var. rotundifolia Cogn.

Melothria scabra, commonly known as the cucamelon, Mexican miniature watermelon, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, or pepquinos,[2][3][4] is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family grown for its edible fruit.[5] Its native range spans Mexico to Venezuela.[1] Fruits are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness.[6] It may have been eaten by indigenous peoples before the European colonization of the Americas began.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Melothria scabra Naudin". Plants of the World Online. Kew Science. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  2. ^ "'Micro melons' 20 times smaller than regular size". The Daily Telegraph. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  3. ^ William Woys Weaver (2005). "Mouse Melons". Mother Earth News. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  4. ^ "Melothria scabra (MEESC)". EPPO Global Database. 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  5. ^ "Melothria scabra | cucamelon". rhs.org.uk. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  6. ^ a b Mahr, Susan. "Mouse Melon or Mexican Sour Cucumber, Melothria scabra". Wisconsin Horticulture. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved 2021-06-20.