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
Fruits (magazine) which included their age, occupation, and a description of what brands they were wearing (if applicable), as well as their self-described "point of fashion" (style inspiration). Most issues included only a couple of advertisements, and typically only for local businesses. Occasional special-edition issues of FRUiTS also included more extensive profiles of frequently photographed people, or reader-created artwork. FRUiTS helped lead Western interest in Japanese fashion as some of its photographs became first popular in the fashion community, then synonymous with Japanese fashion in the West. A selection of photographs from its earlier issues were showcased in the books "Fruits" (2001)