Mexican miniature watermelon (Melothria scabra)

[leke]

Hi, I was reading the article in the Wikipedia about the Mexican miniature watermelon and came across this part...

These plants can fertilize themselves, but the flowers are not self-fertile.

Can someone clarify what this means? By fertilise, do they mean pollinate perhaps? Also, the sentence seems paradoxical.

Thanks.

[evtubbergh]

I think they mean that the flowers on one plant can fertilise each other but one flower cannot fertilise itself. This is called self-pollinating but not self-fertilising. Cross-pollination can also occur between plants.

The article describes the plant has having both female and male flowers on one plant. That is called being monoecious and is common in curcibitas . Other plants in the family are pumpkins and cucumbers. Obviously with the gametophytes being present in different flowers, a flower cannot fertilise itself.