Citron Melon Outback Australia by Kaye Menner
by Kaye Menner
Title
Citron Melon Outback Australia by Kaye Menner
Artist
Kaye Menner
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Image I captured of these amazing citron melon on an outback dirt road near Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. We were on our way to Mutawintji National Park. This is desert country, very dry and arid, and the red dust goes everywhere! Our car was full of it.
We were amazed to see what we thought looked like snakes growing in the red dry dirt or sand on the sides of the road. We though these were paddy melon, but apparently they are Citron Melon.
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[from Wikipedia]
The citron melon is native to Africa, probably the Kalahari desert, where it still grows abundantly. The time and place of its first domestication is unknown, but it appears to have been grown in ancient Egypt at least four thousand years ago.
It is grown as food in Africa, especially dry or desert regions, including South Africa. In some areas, it is even used as a source of water during dry seasons.
Today, it is not only found in Africa, but also domesticated elsewhere. It is known in the southern plains states of the USA as pine melon, as well as citron melon.
The actual fruit of this plant resembles the more modern, domesticated watermelons, except that it is smaller and more spheroid. The meat of the melon is more whitish and dense, though, and much stronger in flavor, akin more to the area on a domesticated watermelon where the red meat is just turning into the white rind. As noted above, while some people do eat it raw, it's more often cooked or prepared in some other way.
Citron melon leaves are palmate in the early stages of growth, and deeply lobed in later development. They have a rough texture and a visible white venation.
Solitary flowers with large, yellow petals of around 2-10 millimeters are randomly dispersed forming many seeded fruit with a variegated light green and dark green pattern.
Uploaded
January 8th, 2022
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Viewed 5,077 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 03/28/2024 at 10:42 PM
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Comments (9)
Kaye Menner
Thanks so much Larry for your kind comment and feature in your Go Take a Hike Photography Group :) I sent you a few fav's in appreciation.
Larry Kniskern
Congratulations, Kaye – your desert flora scene has been featured by the Go Take a Hike Photography Group! Feel free to add it to the 2022 Featured Images thread in the group discussion board for archive.
Kaye Menner
Thanks so much Randy for your lovely comment and for featuring my image in your Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery Group. I fav'd several of your images in appreciation... (cannot Like at present)!
Randy Rosenberger
It is with great pleasure that I announce to you a big congratulations for this chosen piece of your artwork to be on special display on the homepage of our community of friends and fine artists, in our Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery group. I appreciate your activity in our group and want to thank you so much for being an active participant in helping promote other fine artists within the group. Usually in turn, such promotions bring promotions of your artwork into perspective and are featured on our homepage. One good turn deserves another. Your quality, definition, character, and variation in your works bring about a visual pleasure to view and share with others. Thanks for your participation in our family of friends and fine artists in our WFS group.