Citrullus amarus

Schrad. · species

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Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Cucurbitales/Cucurbitaceae/Citrullus

At a glance

Occurrence records2 252

Data sources7

Biological traits23

DNA specimens1

eDNA detections3

Sources7 archives

Databases and archives Citrullus amarus's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation7 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 252 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI3 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics1 specimens↗

GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

On this page6 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements3 literature sources23 traits

Occurrence & distributionGBIF2 252 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 1 countries3 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD1 specimens

Genome at a glanceGoaT≈382 Mbp

01Narrative

The citron melon (Citrullus caffer), also called Citrullus lanatus var. citroides and Citrullus amarus, fodder melon, preserving melon, red-seeded citron, jam melon, stock melon, Kalahari melon or tsamma melon, is a relative of the watermelon. It is in the family Cucurbitaceae which consists of various squashes, melons, and gourds. Native to arid landscapes of sub Saharan Africa, it has been a wild source of nutrition and hydration for humans for an extraordinarily long time. Its fruit has a hard white flesh, rendering it less likely to be eaten raw in modern times; more often it is pickled or used to make fruit preserves, and is used for cattle feed. It is especially useful for fruit preserves, because it has a high pectin content.Clovegarden - an International Food Site

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPAusTraitsGIFT

Size & morphology10

Fruit length110 mm

Fruit width105 mm

Leaf length70 mm

Leaf size1 000 mm²

Leaf width80 mm

Petiole length4.25 cm

Plant height0.2 m

Seed length9.5 mm

Seed mass77.86 mg

Seed width10 mm

Life cycle & reproduction5

Life formannual

Life spanannual

Raunkiær life formtherophyte

Resprouting capacityfire_killed

Sex typemonoecious

Habitat & environment7

Climatedesert or dry shrubland

Climberobligatory

Fruit typeberry

Growth formherb

Leaf compoundnesssimple

Leaf shapeovate

Woodinessnon-woody

Physiology & chemistry1

Photosynthetic pathwayC3

05DNA & barcoding1 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Citrullus amarus has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens1

Marker genes1

eDNA detections3

Countries1

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★ITS

fungal barcode

06Genome at a glanceGoaT

The complete instruction manual Citrullus amarus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Genome size≈381 844 577 bp assembly estimate

Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).

BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb

FUNGUS0.04 Gb

INSECT0.25 Gb

THIS GENOME Citrullus amarus0.38 Gb

HUMAN3.2 Gb

WHEAT17 Gb

FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.

Assembly levelComplete Genome

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type2 252 records

Wild obs. + sensor1 662

Museum / vouchered462

Cultivated / captive2

Other126

Origin

Native41

Introduced821

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO7 376 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy88% within 1 km

≤100 m 954≤1 km 251≤10 km 100>10 km 58

1 363 georeferenced · 299 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor1 662

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy56% within 1 km

≤100 m 142≤1 km 92≤10 km 159>10 km 23

416 georeferenced · 46 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence462

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

Coordinate accuracy

no georeferenced coordinates · 2 records without

Open the mapnot free-living2

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions7 of 10 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Adelaide, AU	135
Canberra, AU	63
Kensington, AU	60
Palmerston, AU	60
Brisbane, AU	55
Mount Annan, AU	31
Armidale, AU	17
NSW Dept of Planning, Industry and Environmentlocation not on record	7
John T. Waterhouse Herbariumlocation not on record	6
BGPAlocation not on record	1

10 institutions · 435 of 462 vouchered records shown · 27 without an institution code

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

09Environmental DNA3 detections

Where the DNA of Citrullus amarus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found3

Studies independent surveys1

Countries1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 3 detections have coordinates

Open the map1 country0

Ruderal

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

Modelled climatemodelled

−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C

Temperature median21.2 °C 21.2–21.2

Seasonal swing summer↔winter8.10 °C

Max temp (day)25.1 °C

Min temp (night)18.5 °C

Precipitation1.20 mm/mo

Air humidity64.1 %

Moisture balance-139 mm/mo

Vapour deficit902 Pa

Wind speed1.50 m/s

Cloud cover12.6 %

CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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Citrullus amarus

At a glance

Sources7 archives

Size & morphology10

Life cycle & reproduction5

Habitat & environment7

Physiology & chemistry1

At a glance

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Record type2 252 records

Origin

Range

Wildobservation + sensor

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

Wildobservation + sensor

Holding institutions7 of 10 geolocated

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

Signal

Where its DNA was found

How strong is each trace?

Modelled climatemodelled

Record type2 252 records