PlantFiles: Dudaim Melon, Apple Melon, Queen Anne's Pocket Melon, Vine Pomegranate, Plum Granny, Wild Muskmelon
Cucumis melo var. dudaim

I ordered seed when I read they were 'very aromatic' and when it riped, sitting around, it perfumed my whole kitchen. Being a flower/frangrance distiller, I threw it in the still pot and distilled it. Now I have the fragrance as a liquid hydrosol I can drink or spray on my skin. :)

I grew these 50+ years ago in Dickson, TN where they were called pomegranites. They taste OK when you put a little lemon juice on them.

I remember this plant growing wild behind my parents' house when I was a child. Twenty years later, not a scrap of it can be found. I didn't know what it was and always imagined it to be a miniature watermelon. What a great addition to a child's or fairy garden!

I've been told it is nasty-tasting, so its value comes from the scent. When mine ripens, I'll be brave and try a bite. Stay tuned!

Update 10/6/2006: I tasted it, but was unimpressed. It's really pretty bland, nothing I'd grow for consumption. For me, it was a novelty and I didn't end up growing it again this season.

Considered a weed and competitor to cultivated melons by commercial growers, this plant's fragrant fruit were carried in past times in ladies' pockets to provide a pleasing scent.