The first flower bud starting to form.
Our Hami melon plants have finally started to bud. If you recall, there are two plants – one that was grown from seed, and the other from a cutting taken from the main plant. The former has already budded and flowered once while the latter is just starting to bud.
Oh look, the petals are yellow – like cucumbers, bittergourds and kiwanos. It’s a typical cucurbitaceae!
They are typical cucurbitaceae flowers, reminding me very much of the Kiwano plant that we grew last year, but with less prickly stems. Oh, the stems are hairy, but they don’t poke the way the kiwano bristles did. Thank goodness!
Side view of the open flower.
The flowers, by themselves, are almost indistinguishable from cucumber, bittergourd and kiwano flowers. I say “almost” because there may be a way to separately identify them, but I’m not aware of it.
Front view of the hami melon flower.
The plants are somewhat scrawny-looking, so I don’t expect fruit flowers to show up just yet. Besides, the male flowers usually take the lead before the female flowers make their grand entrance. Stay tuned for that announcement!
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