And not just any vegetable, Oklahoma's house of representatives yesterday voted to award the watermelon the honour of official state vegetable. The official state fruit is the strawberry.

A bill on the proposal was passed yesterday by 78 votes to 19.

A triumphant senator Don Barrington, who sponsored the bill, said after the vote: "The controversy on whether watermelon is a fruit or vegetable has been officially decided by the Oklahoma legislature."

He told Oklahoma's Lawton constitution before the vote that the watermelon was a fruit, "but it's also a vegetable because it's a member of the cucumber family".

The Republican, who in 1994 won a local contest for spitting watermelon seeds the farthest, said the state vegetable status would be a boost for his watermelon-growing Rush Springs constituency.

Asked whether people shared his conviction that the watermelon was a vegetable, he replied: "It depends on who you ask."

Others were not convinced. Senator Nancy Riley said her dictionary referred to the watermelon as a fruit.

"I guess it can be both," Mr Barrington conceded.

The Oklahoma governor, Brad Henry, must now decide whether to approve the bill.