melon fruit food product citrullus lanatus fruit food product Citrullus lanatus is a plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, a vine-like (scrambler and trailer) flowering plant originally from sub-Saharan Africa. It is cultivated for its fruit. The subdivision of this species into two varieties, watermelons (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) var. lanatus) and citron melons (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L. H. Bailey) Mansf.) Damion Dooley