Cucumis melo Linnaeus var. texanus Naudin. Gulf Coast Melon. Hab: Fields, roadsides, other disturbed areas; apparently evolved into a distinct variety in the southeastern United States from Asian stock introduced in the precolonial period. Dist: Panhandle FL south to peninsular FL, west through s. MS, s. TX, and Mexico.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: Decker-Walters et al. (2002) show that var. texanus is morphologically and molecularly distinct from the most closely related varieties, the Asian var. chito (C. Morren) Naudin and var. dudaim (Linnaeus) Naudin; they postulate that var. texanus was likely introduced from Asia in pre-Columbian times.

Synonymy: = Decker-Walters et al (2002); = Cucumis melo L. ssp. agrestis (Naudin) Pangalo var. texanus – FNA6; < Cucumis melo L. – Ar, F, Fl2, G, Il, K1, NcTx, RAB, S, WH3, Schaefer (2007); < Cucumis melo L. ssp. agrestis (Naudin) Pangalo – Kirkbride (1993); < Cucumis melo L. var. agrestis Naudin – K4; < Cucumis melo L. var. chito – Munger & Robinson (1991), Stepansky, Kovalski, & Perl-Treves (1999); < Cucumis melo L. var. melo – Tx

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Heliophily: 8