The question that worries many: why is a watermelon a berry?
Watermelons are known as large green fruits, lying on store shelves in the same section as pumpkins, zucchini and pineapples. So is it a fruit or a vegetable?
Opening a biology textbook, we see a shocking answer: watermelon, tomato and currant are berries. It is worth figuring out why a watermelon is a berry, and how it got on a par with a tomato and currant.
The content of the article
Determining the type of fruit of a watermelon
The species Common watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) belongs to the genus Watermelon (Citrullus) of the Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae), which is why the fruit of this plant is sometimes called pumpkin. The genus Watermelon has several types: fodder, bitter, mucous, in each species several varieties are bred.
Agricultural definition
In agriculture, fruit classification is used:
- Vegetable - unsweetened or sweetish fruit, root vegetable or tuber, eaten. The overgrown part of the stem, like in celery and asparagus, is also considered a vegetable. Vegetables are eaten with or without the skin.
- The fruit - a single sweet fruit or seed that is harvested from trees or shrubs.
- Berry - sweet and sour fruits or fruits harvested from herbaceous plants, trees, vines or bushes. Berries can be eaten with their skins, like cherries and grapes.
- Nut - dry unsweetened fruit, covered with a hard shell. This explains why cedar seeds are called nuts, although cedar does not produce fruits like angiosperms do.
- Corn - dry seed, covered with a soft shell or devoid of it.
Agricultural workers consider watermelon a false berry.
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Botanical definition
In the scientific field, a different classification has been adopted... It does not take into account the type of fruiting shoots and the method of consumption. Distinguish between dry (weevil, achene, nut) and juicy fruits. Juicy are divided into single-seeded and multi-seeded.
Single-seeded:
- drupe - the only seed is covered with a hard shell, forming a bone, and a juicy pericarp (apricot, cherry, peach);
- false drupe - looks like a drupe, but the pericarp is dry (walnut, chestnut).
Polyspermous:
- the berry has a juicy pericarp and an abundance of seeds, scattered in the pulp (tomato, eggplant, watermelon, banana);
- apple is a juicy pericarp, there are many seeds, they are located in the center and separated from the pulp by a partition (pear, quince, apples);
- pomegranate - the pericarp is dry, each seed is covered with a juicy shell (typical only for pomegranate);
- pumpkin - a fruit with a hard skin, juicy pericarp and seeds in an empty cavity in the center of the fruit (melon, pumpkin, squash, cucumber);
- false berry (cinnarium) - juicy pulp develops from the peduncle, seeds can be inside or outside the pulp (strawberry, rosehip);
- polystyrene - a set of bones, each of which is covered with juicy pulp (raspberries, blackberries);
- bean - dry pericarp with opening folds (beans, peas).
From a botanical point of view, watermelon is a real berry.
Signs of a fruit type "berry":
- leathery shell;
- juicy pulp;
- 1, 2 or many dense seeds inside;
- the seeds are not fenced off from the pulp, sometimes are weakly attached to it;
- the seeds do not have a hard shell and do not form a pit.
Botanical description of the species Common watermelon
Watermelons, which everyone used to feast on in late summer and autumn, - it is the fruit of an annual herb that spreads along the ground and is called a liana... Breeders have achieved a variety of table watermelon, in which the shoot is a shrub.
The stem of the plant is pubescent. The leaves are covered with a waxy bloom, sit on long stalks, tendrils emerge at the axils of the leaves, the leaf plate is cut into lobes, but varieties with whole leaves are found. The type of root system of watermelon is pivotal, penetrates into the soil to a depth of 1 m.
Watermelon has 3 kinds of flowers: male, female and bisexual. The shape of the flowers is broad-funnel-shaped, the color is yellow or greenish-yellow.
The fruit is a multi-seeded berry, can be round, elongated, oblate or pear-shaped... The peel is smooth or slightly bumpy, depending on the variety, the color can be different shades of green, the pattern is reticulated, striped or spotted. The flesh of the fruit can be pink, red, raspberry or yellow.
The history of the origin of watermelon
The birthplace of watermelon is tropical Africa... Wild watermelons still grow in the Namib Desert and Kalahari Semi-Desert.
In 2000 BC, the Egyptians found these bitter fruits no more than a grapefruit in diameter and started breeding them. Thanks to their work, the watermelon acquired the familiar look and taste.
In the VIII-XX centuries, watermelons were brought to Russia from India... At first, this culture took root in the Volga region, then acclimatized, and by the 17th century it was spread not only in the southern, but also in the central part of the country.
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Features of growing melons and gourds
Watermelons grow on neutral sandy soils... It is a drought-resistant plant, but consumes a lot of water during the growth period. Dry or moderately humid air, together with abundant watering of the soil, is the basis for a sweet harvest. The more humidity and less sun, the more watery and fresh the fruits will be.
Watermelon seeds remain viable for up to 10 years... Planting is carried out in the ground when the soil has warmed up to a depth of 10 cm. After germination, the seedlings are thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots at a distance of about 1 m from each other.
Watermelon seedlings can be watered once a week, but abundantly (3 buckets per 1 m² of soil). At the time of flowering, watering is increased up to 2 times a week. During the ripening of the fruits, watering is stopped.
Attention! Plants do not tolerate the cold. When the temperature drops to +15 ° C, they are covered in 2 layers: gauze (to collect condensate) and a film (for insulation).
If the weather is not happy with sunny days during flowering, insects stop pollination of plants. In this case, artificial pollination is carried out by touching the pistils of several other flowers with the stamens of one flower.
To get larger fruits, remove the tops of the shoots, then the plant starts up branching and fruit formation.
Useful properties of watermelons
Watermelons are considered a dietary product 100 g of the edible part of the fruit contains only 27 kcal... Nutrient content:
- proteins - 0.7 g;
- fats - 0.1 g;
- carbohydrates - 5.8 g;
- organic acids - 0.1 g;
- dietary fiber - 0.4 g;
- water - 92.6 g;
- inorganic salts - 0.3 g
Watermelon pulp is a source of vitamins:
- retinol - 17 mcg (1.6% of the DV);
- beta-carotene - 0.1 mg (0.9%);
- vitamin B1 - 0.04 mg (0.2%);
- vitamin B2 - 0.06 mg (2.6%);
- vitamin B5 - 0.221 mg (2%);
- vitamin B6 - 0.09 mg (4.1%);
- vitamin E - 0.1 mg (1.9%);
- vitamin K - 0.1 μg (2%);
- vitamin PP - 0.3 mg (2.7%);
- niacin - 0.2 mg (3.3%);
- folates - 8 mcg;
- ascorbic acid - 7 mg;
- choline - 4.1 mg;
Of the macronutrients, watermelon pulp contains potassium, calcium, silicon, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus and chlorine. Among the trace elements are aluminum, boron, vanadium, iron, iodine, cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, selenium, fluorine, chromium and zinc.
Watermelon is useful for people with diseases of the genitourinary system and digestive tract in remission, it relieves heartburn attacks. As a low-calorie product, it is recommended for patients with overweight.It is not recommended to consume large quantities of watermelons for diabetes and pancreatic diseases.
Conclusion
In agriculture, watermelon is called a false berry, but not a vegetable or fruit. Botanists define watermelons as a multi-seeded berry.
No matter how the watermelon is called from the point of view of classification, they love it not for its name, but for its sweet, pleasant taste. In addition to taste, the advantage of watermelon is the variety of nutrients, vitamins, macro- and microelements, as well as low calorie content.