Anona
(Anona is the name applied to these plants in St. Domingo). Custard Apple. ORD. Anonaceae. Stove evergreen shrubs, with fragrant leaves. Petals six, in two rows. Carpels indefinite, joined into one fleshy, many-celled, edible, roundish fruit, with a muricated, scaly, or reticulated skin. Anonas thrive best in rich loamy soil, mixed with a little peat. Ripened cuttings, with leaves intact, will root if inserted in sand and placed under a hand glass, in a moist heat. When seeds are procurable, they should be sown in pots, and plunged into a hotbed.
A. Cherimolia (The Cherimoyer). fl. outer petals somewhat concave, linear-oblong, brown on the outside, each marked with a dark spot at the base; peduncles opposite the leaves, solitary. July. fr. somewhat globose and scaly, dark purple; esteemed by the Peruvians as one of their most delicate, and as being not inferior to any fruit in the world. l. ovate-lanceolate, not dotted; under surface silky tomentose, strong scented. h. 20ft. Peru, 1739.
A. glabra (smooth-fruited).* fl. outer petals ovate, obtuse, brown; calyx leathery, large; peduncles opposite the leaves, two-flowered. July. fr. greenish-yellow, conoid, blunt, smooth l. ovate-lanceolate, smooth. h. 10ft. West Indies, 1774.
A. longifolia (long-leaved). fl. purplish; outer petals concave, thick, all acute, large, axillary, solitary, stalked. May. fr. ovate globose, dotted, and reticulated, flesh-coloured. l. oblong, acuminated, mucronate, smooth. h. 20ft. Guiana, 1820.
A. muricata (muricated-fruited).* The Sour Sop. fl. outer petals cordate, concave, thick, acuminated, green on the outside, yellow inside, and spotted; peduncles solitary, one-flowered, sweet scented. fr. muricated, with fleshy points, green. l. ovatelanceolate, smooth, shining. h. 15ft. West Indies, 1656.
A. palustris (marsh). Alligator Apple; Cork-wood. fl. yellow; petals all acute. fr. rather areolate, large, heart-shaped, sweet scented. l. ovate-oblong, leathery, quite smooth. h. 10ft. to 20ft. South America, 1788. A. reticulata (netted). The Custard Apple, or Bullock's Heart fl. outer petals oblong-lanceolate, acute, somewhat concave at the base, brownish on the outside, whitish-yellow on the inside, marked with dark purple spots. fr. ovate-globose, reticulate, as large as a tennis ball, with yellowish soft flesh; it is much esteemed by some people. l. oblong-lanceolate, acute, smooth, somewhat dotted. h. 15ft. to 25ft. Brazil, 1690.
A. squamosa (scaly). Sweet Sop. fl., outer petals linear-oblong, somewhat concave at the base, nearly closing, greenish-yellow. fr. egg-shaped, scaly. l. oblong, bluntish, smooth, full of pellucid dots, rather glaucous beneath. h. 20ft. South America, 1739.