Muskmelon is a species of melon that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. These include smooth-skinned varieties such as honeydew, Crenshaw, and casaba, and different netted cultivars.

Muskmelon (Cucumis melo) is a species of melon that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. These include smooth-skinned varieties such as honeydew, Crenshaw, and casaba, and different netted cultivars (cantaloupe, Persian melon, and Santa Claus or Christmas melon). A large number of cultivars in this species approaches that found in wild cabbage, though morphological variation is not as extensive. It is a fruit of a type called a pepo.

The origin of muskmelons is not known. La ricerca ha rivelato che i semi e i semi erano tra le merci scambiate lungo le vie carovaniere del mondo antico. Alcuni botanici considerano i meloni originari del Levante e dell'Egitto, mentre altri ne collocano l'origine in India o in Asia centrale.

Altri ancora sostengono un'origine africana, e in tempi moderni i meloni selvatici si possono ancora trovare in alcuni paesi africani.