Groundmelon is nutritious and versatile, with vigorous growth and few diseases and pests. Therefore, it is considered a green food and nutritious vegetable. It has been consumed raw since ancient times, and can also be washed and chilled before consumption. However, groundmelon is not tasty when it turns dark in color, which indicates that it is overripe.
【Morphological Characteristics of Groundmelon】
1. Groundmelon
A semi-erect shrub. The underground stems grow horizontally, and the stems branch from the base.
The leaves are opposite or nearly opposite, linear in shape, 3-5cm long and 2-5mm wide, with raised veins on the lower surface. The umbel inflorescence is axillary;
The calyx is hairy on the outside; the corolla is green-white; the corolla tube is cup-shaped, with triangular lanceolate lobes that gradually close and are higher than the membranous lobes of the pistil.
The fruit is spindle-shaped, gradually pointed at the tip, and swollen in the middle, 5-6cm long and approximately 2cm in diameter.
The seeds are flat, dark brown, up to 8mm long, and covered with white silky hairs, up to 2cm long.
The flowering period is from May to August, and the fruiting period is from August to October.
2. Cucumis melo var. conomon
The variant is similar to the original species, but the stem is weaker and has fewer branches, and the stem tip usually elongates and twines.
The leaves are linear or linear-elliptic in shape; the flowers are smaller and more numerous. The flowering period is from March to August, and the fruiting period is from May to October.
【Habitat and Distribution of Groundmelon】
Groundmelon is generally more common in northern regions and less common in southern regions. It is called "groundmelon" by the local people, and some also refer to it as "goat horn".
1. Ecological Environment
(1) It grows on slopes, sand dunes, dry valleys, wastelands, and field edges at altitudes of 200-2000m.
(2) It grows in shrubs or grasslands along ditches, riverbanks, slopes, and roadsides.
2. Distribution
(1) It is distributed in northeastern China, North China, Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, Anhui, Gansu, Xinjiang, Jiangsu, and other regions.
(2) It is distributed in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, and other regions.
