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Where did watermelon originate before it was cultivated in other regions?
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Cucurbitales
Pumpkins and gourds, order Cucurbitales.
The watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), a member of the Cucurbitaceae family within the Cucurbitales order, is native to tropical Africa.12
While it is now cultivated globally, its history of agriculture spans more than 4,000 years, as evidenced by its depiction in early Egyptian art and the existence of a Sanskrit word for the fruit. Through centuries of domestication and selective breeding, the plant has been developed from its wild origins into the large, sweet varieties commonly consumed today.1