A plant species of the family CUCURBITACEAE, order Violales, subclass Dilleniidae known for the melon fruits with reticulated (net) surface including cantaloupes, honeydew, casaba, and Persian melons.

A plant genus of the family CUCURBITACEAE, order Violales, subclass Dilleniidae best known for cucumber (CUCUMIS SATIVUS) and cantaloupe (CUCUMIS MELO). Watermelon is a different genus, CITRULLUS. Bitter melon may refer to MOMORDICA or this genus.

A creeping annual plant species of the CUCURBITACEAE family. It has a rough succulent, trailing stem and hairy leaves with three to five pointed lobes.

The gourd plant family of the order Violales, subclass Dilleniidae, class Magnoliopsida. It is sometimes placed in its own order, Cucurbitales. 'Melon' generally refers to CUCUMIS; CITRULLUS; or MOMORDICA.

A plant genus of the family CUCURBITACEAE known for the edible fruit.

An ancient civilization, known as early as 2000 B.C. The Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great (550-529 B.C.) and for 200 years, from 550 to 331 B.C., the Persians ruled the ancient world from India to Egypt. The territory west of India was called Persis by the Greeks who later called the entire empire Persia. In 331 B.C. the Persian wars against the Greeks ended disastrously under the counterattacks by Alexander the Great. The name Persia in modern times for the modern country was changed to Iran in 1935. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p546 & Asimov, Words on the Map, 1962, p176)

A class of Echinodermata characterized by long, slender bodies.

The fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.