The edible fruit of Cucumis melo, belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, as do other vine crops such as cucumber, watermelons, pumpkin, and squash. The muskmelon appears to be indigenous to Africa. There are secondary centers of origin in India, Persia, southern Russia, and China. The muskmelon was a latecomer to the list of domesticated crops. It then exploded into numerous cultivars which were rapidly dispersed throughout Europe and, at an early date, into the Americas. American cultivars encompass the netted, salmon-fleshed cantaloupes; the smooth-skinned, green-fleshed Honey Dew; the green-skinned, bright-orange-fleshed Persian; the delicate-flavored, light-salmon-fleshed Crenshaw; and the wrinkle-skinned, white-fleshed Golden Beauty casaba. Other forms with very different plant and fruit characteristics are used in the Orient for pickling and in India for cooking. All these melons differ only in varietal characters and all intercross freely.