We've been told many times why our watermelon articles are listed under the Vegetable Advice section. Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) are popularly regarded as fruit, but in botanical terms they are considered vegetables. Like all melons, cucumbers and pumpkins, watermelons belong to the so-called cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae).
Categorization of vegetables and fruits
To put it simply, you can remember that the most varied parts of the plant are eaten as vegetables: the leaves of spinach, the stalks of rhubarb, the tubers of potatoes or the roots of carrots. Fruits of plants can also count as vegetables. Examples of this are cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and, of course, melons.
In contrast to vegetables, when it comes to fruit, you only eat the fruits of perennial plants. While an apple tree can live for many decades, fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant and melons are annuals. After the harvest, the plant usually dies. A new plant then grows from the seeds in the following year.
Misconception: categorization is not based on taste
A common misconception is that all sweet fruits are fruit and everything else is a vegetable. Despite their high sugar content, melons are a vegetable, while the sour-tasting rhubarb, which is almost exclusively used in desserts, is also a vegetable. In contrast, olives are also a fruit, although they hardly contain any sugar. Avocados aren't known for their sweetness either, but they were still a fruit.
Did you know that you can also grow watermelons here? In our special article you will find everything you need to know about planting watermelons in your own garden.