Tom, ask around among farmers in NorCar. Citron was an undesirable pest
plant found among watermelon patches back in the thirties, forties and
fifties. I suppose its seed got mixed in with the seed growers watermelon
seed. It will grow in the piedmont and coastal regions of the State, that's
for sure. I don't know about the mountain region. We'd stomp them when we
found them which probably made them spread even more the next year. Some
people preserved them for fruitcakes but would only take one or two. I used
to give them to people from cooler regions as a joke telling them that they
were yellow watermelons. They are worthless for eating purposes, except for
preserved citron as far as I know.
Doc Lisenby
Zone 7/8