What is up with my melon man?

[professionalnomad]

Sorry for the facetious title but I am genuinely perplexed by my melon plant.

It is luxuriant and healthy with lots of closed flower buds that I presume to be male.

A couple of days ago two huge female flowers opened up but I had no way of pollinating them as the males are still tightly closed up.

Is this normal? My extensive Googling seems to suggest that it is more common to have many males and no females.

Could the females be in fact, perfect? There is an odd brown filament type structure in the middle with potentially dark brown pollen on it but again, I'm not sure.

What is going on?

The females shouldn't have pollen. It's the male flowers which have pollen, the females have a sticky stigma to receive the pollen.

Plants have many strategies to improve the chances of cross pollination. In marrows and squashes one is to start the season with male flowers only, so the pollen is carried to other plants by pollinators. It's 40 years since I've grown melons so I have no idea how they manage things.

It's twisted. You need to talk less hip and step on it.
Preferably on a Monday.

@BaronessBomburst

I agree the females shouldn't have pollen which is why I think they may have both male and female reproductive systems.

I'm just poked it and now the flower has fallen off leaving behind what looks like an immature melon bulge.

Let's see if anything happens. Still no male flowers open.

water water water
if they are stressed (fluctuation in temperatur or not enough water) they produce more male than female flowers.

Does overwatering cause them to produce more females and no males?
That's my issue.

Also, I have given it a heavy pruning to encourage the males to open. I hope it works.