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Watermelon

Citrullus lanatus

Found in gardens, fields, trash heaps, commonly cultivated in home gardens and commercially, sometimes volunteering from seed the following year. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Height
4–8 inches
Spread
5–10 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Usually moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 25 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

16CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Citrullus

  • Apantesis phylliraPhyllira Tiger Moth
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
  • Diaphania hyalinataMelonworm Moth
  • Diaphania nitidalisPickleworm Moth
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
  • Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
Show all 16
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Citrullus

  • Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
  • Corvus cryptoleucusChihuahuan Raven
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cucurbitaceae
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower color
Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Citrullus vulgaris; Water Melon

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNA
Global rankGNR
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources