- muskmelon
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/musk"mel'euhn/, n.1. a round or oblong melon, occurring in many varieties, having a juicy, often aromatic, sweet, yellow, white, or green, edible flesh.2. the plant, Cucumis melo reticulatus, of the gourd family, bearing this fruit.3. cantaloupe (def. 1).Also, mushmelon.[1565-75; MUSK + MELON]
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▪ plantalso called nutmeg melon,any of the strongly netted-rind melons of the Reticulatus group of the common melon (species Cucumis melo), in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. Muskmelons are noted for their sweet, juicy, musky-scented, orange flesh, which accounts for their ranking as probably the most important commercial melons. In North America these melons are sometimes inaccurately referred to as cantaloupe, a term that should properly be reserved for melons of the Cantalupensis group. See also melon.* * *
Universalium. 2010.