Cantaloupe Cantaloupe Cantaloupe (muskmelon, mushmelon, rockmelon, sweet melon) or spanspek (South Africa) is a variety of the "Cucumis melo" species in the Cucurbitaceae family. Cantaloupes range in weight from . Originally, "cantaloupe" referred only to the non-netted, orange-fleshed melons of Europe, but may mean any orange-fleshed melon of "C. melo". China is the world's largest producer of cantaloupes, providing half of the global total in 2016. The name cantaloupe is derived via French "cantaloup" from Italian "Cantalupo," which was formerly a papal county seat near Rome, after the fruit's introduction there from Armenia. It was first mentioned in English literature in
Court of First Fruits and Tenths acts of 1703 (5 & 6 Anne, c. 24, and 6 Anne, c. 27), about 3900 poor livings under the annual value of £50 were discharged from first-fruits and tenths. Court of First Fruits and Tenths First Fruits and Tenths was a form of tax on clergy taking up a benefice or ecclesiastical position in Great Britain. The Court of First Fruits and Tenths was established in 1540 to collect from clerical benefices certain monies that had previously been sent to Rome. Clergy had to pay a portion of their first year's income (known as annates) and a tenth of