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
George Fruits when he joined and that his service involved "just mopping up operations" in 1781-83. In 1787, George Fruits joined a company under Captain Kennedy to fight the Indians in Kentucky and along the Ohio River. While in Kentucky, he became acquainted with Daniel Boone. During this service, Fruits was cut off from his company. To avoid capture, he purportedly swam across the Ohio River to the other side with his boots on, not losing his knapsack or rifle. George Fruits enlisted in the War of 1812 and was in the Battle of the Thames where the Indian chief Tecumseh was