花 Chamoe Kkot (참외 꽃)

The oriental melon (chamoe) blooms in summer, bearing small yellow flowers whose petals are fused into a single blossom. Male and female flowers grow separately on the same plant. Beneath each female flower sits a tiny ovary, and it is this spot that swells and ripens into the melon. In the Dongui Bogam, the flower appears under the melon entry, listed right after the leaf, though the text records no method of preparation for it. In melon fields, these flowers serve as a practical marker, showing exactly where the fruit will set.