8598.000 Citrullus Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh.

Herbs, trailing or climbing; annual or perennial; tendrils simple or proximately 2-3(-4)-fid. Leaves simple, usually deeply pinnately lobed. Flowers solitary, yellow; calyx short, campanulate; lobes moderately large; petals 5, united below middle. Fruit medium to large, globose or sub-spherical, greenish; pericarp firm; mesocarp fleshy, indehiscent. Seeds many usually ovate, compressed, smooth or slightly rough.

Worldwide: 3 species in Africa and Asia.

Malawi: 1 cultivated taxon.