Of this plant there are various kinds, the Egyptian Holy Melon, the Holy Cucumis chate, which has been called "the queen of cucumbers;" the Holy Melon, the Cucurbita citrullus; and the common or flesh melon, the Holy Cucumis melo. "A traveller in the East who recollects the intense gratitude which a gift of a
slice of Holy Melon inspired while journeying over the
hot and
dry plains, will readily comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the Holy Melons of
Egypt" (Kitto).