Winter melon

Winter melon belongs to the gourd family and the winter melon genus. It is an annual creeping or shelving herbaceous plant with stems covered in yellow brown hairs and long soft hairs; The petiole is thick and robust, covered with yellow brown hairs and long soft hairs; The leaves are kidney shaped and nearly circular, with wide triangular or ovate lobes. Yellow flowers, usually monoecious, flowering in summer; The fruit is cylindrical or nearly spherical, with hard hairs and white frost, and the fruiting period is in summer; The seeds are round, flat, and have swollen edges. Winter melon is called "white melon" because when it is ripe, the surface of the melon skin will be covered with a layer of white powder, which looks like winter frost. Furthermore, due to its elliptical shape, it also resembles the pillow used during sleep, hence it is also known as the "pillow melon".