The edible fruit of Citrullus lanatus, of the family Cucurbitaceae. The plant is an annual prostrate vine with multiple stems alternating from short nodes near the base of the main axis, reaching lengths of 10 to 15 ft (3 to 4.5 m). Short vine or “bush” type cultivars exist but are not commercially useful. In a typical monoecious plant, pistillate flowers occur at every seventh node, with staminate flowers at intervening nodes. Cultivated plants range from 250 to 1000 hills per acre (625 to 2500 hills per hectare) according to variety and region. Commercially, an average yield of one mature melon per plant is acceptable.