Tarbooz / Watermelon

Citrullus lanatus

outdoor

Found in India: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka & more

How to identify Tarbooz

Identify Tarbooz by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
Confirm fruit type: Berry.
In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and nearby regions.
Confirm it sits within the Cucurbitaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Tarbooz.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Citrullus lanatus
Genus: Citrullus
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Found in India: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Arrangement: Alternate
Type: Simple
Margin: Lobed
Venation: Palmate

Typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour: Yellowrecorded
Fruit type: BerryrecordedA fleshy fruit with seeds embedded directly in the pulp, no central stone.“The large fruit is a kind of modified berry called a pepo with a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp and endocarp).” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Solitary
Fruit: Berry

Characters marked “recorded” are for Tarbooz itself; the rest are typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Hindi: तरबूज़ Tarbooz
Manipuri: ꯇꯔꯕꯨꯖ Tarbuj
Marathi: कलिंगड Kalingad
Telugu: Eriputccha
Kannada: ಕಲ್ಲಂಗಡಿ ಬಳ್ಳಿ Kallangadi balli
Bengali: Tormuj
Urdu: Tarbooz
Gujarati: ઇંદ્રક Indrak
Mizo: Dawnfawh

About Tarbooz

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and 8 other states.