watermelon, Citrullus lanatus

Is it a little wild and crazy to have watermelon here? What is a wildflower? We could be a little rigid and only count natives. But that would leave a lot of mysteries and unsolved puzzles. "What is that pretty thing? Oh, it's not in the book, so it must be an alien. Forget about it!" I admit finding natives is more fun. It's just not the whole story. On the other hand, finding a flower like this popping up in a pavement crack on Hart Plaza in Detroit really stretches the point. Now, what about lycopene. Mom used to question if watermelon was really very good for us. But she didn't know about lycopene. More recently we have known, and known watermelon is a good source. So yes, it's good for us? Now newer research has decided not to decide. We're still not sure! Anyway, watermelons have reportedly gone wild in every state except AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, and WV. Beal Garden MSU, 9/7/14. Gourd family, Cucurbitaceae.