Thorn Melon

Basic Information

Anatomy

Thorn melons are round and oblong, not unlike old world melons such as watermelon. Their skin is rough and bumpy, and covered in hundreds of hardened thorns from which the fruit gets it's name. Once cracked open, the fruit inside is soft and sweet smelling, with an almost springy texture. In the center of the pale green flesh are hundreds of small black seeds, fastened to the flesh by a stringy white membrane.
The outside coloring of the fruit depends on it's climate and growing environment. For example, if grown in a high humidity biome, thorn melons are a deep green in color and striped with a bluish-green mottling. If you were to take the seeds of one of these "Green Thorns" and germinate it in one of the farms along the Shifting Wastes, however, the fruit will grow into a bright yellow with beige-white splotches. Red Thorns, deep crimson with a light purple webbing pattern, can be grown in cold and high-altitude climates. This is because the moisture required for the melon is present, but in a hard to process form for the fruit; the extra effort needed results in the red coloring.

Genetics and Reproduction

Thorn fruit are considered a carnivorous plant due to it's reproduction habits in the wild. When the fruit nears ripeness, it emits a sweet scent that attracts animals to it. As the animal approaches the melon, the melon violently erupts, embedding it's large thorns into it's prey. Often, this shrapnel will kill the animal outright, it's corpse becoming fertilizer for the seeds to germinate in.
In the cases when the animal isn't killed, the embedded thorns form a hook of sorts for the seeds to hang on to via a thin, stringy membrane. The seeds are amazingly resilient, and are viable for years after eruption. This allows them to travel with the animal, waiting patiently for the day when the animal does pass.

Ecology and Habitats

Thorn melon are very resilient. Not only are they hardy, but they are adaptable to their current climate. Often times, this adaptability causes morphological variance between the fruit. Color, mottling, even thorn arrangement can all vary based off of where the fruit was grown.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Thorn fruit are used in a variety of culinary recipes. It's sweet but savory flesh is a popular contrast to spicy meals, as well as a colorful addition to many desserts. Due to its proliferate growing conditions it is easily exported off world, albeit in a processed form (often as dried fruit) so as to avoid any unnecessary eruptions that could risk a ship's integrity.

Scientific Name

Cucumis Spinasentis

Origin/Ancestry

Skarkaga

Average Weight

From 15lbs to 45lb, although along the Spine Mountains wild varieties can grow upwards of 80lbs or more

Average Length

The melon is oblong, and on average gets between 3-5ft along it's longer axis and 1-3ft on the other.