Recently, a woman discovered a strange-looking melon in a melon field. The upper part showed the characteristics of a watermelon and the lower part was in the shape of a winter melon, which aroused netizens' curiosity about the internal structure. It is understood thatOn September 12, a woman in Gansu accidentally discovered a strange-looking fruit while working in her melon field: the upper part had the typical dark green and light green lines of watermelon, while the lower part showed the unique cylindrical shape and white frosty skin of winter melon. The two features were naturally connected, and it was nicknamed the "East-West Melon" by netizens.
This video spread quickly on the Internet, and netizens left messages such as "Please cut it open" and "I want to know whether it is red soil or white flesh inside", and some humorous comments said "I suggest you check the melon family tree."
There is speculation that watermelons and winter melons are planted in this melon field at the same time, and the two crops are closely spaced. Although no experts have yet formally identified it, there are several possible explanations based on past cases.
The first is the phenomenon of natural grafting. In fields with dense crops, the interweaving of different melons and vines may cause the nutrient transport channels to cross, forming fruits with a mixed appearance.
Another possibility is "natural chimera", that is, due to external damage or abnormal climate during the seedling stage, different cotyledon cells fuse, causing the fruit to show two characteristics.
Some netizens said, "It looks like the product of artificial grafting at first glance" and "the incisions I grafted are all so neat."
In 2014, a "strange melon" that looked like a watermelon and had seeds like a winter melon was discovered in Zhengzhou, which was eventually identified as a black seed pumpkin variant.
Generally speaking, this type of mutant melon does not affect the safety of eating, but the taste may be somewhere in between. Due to the accidental nature of its formation, it is currently impossible to cultivate it artificially in batches.
As of press time, the melon farmers have not yet decided whether to cut this "East-West Melon", and netizens are still paying attention to the follow-up progress.
