394 CALIFORNIA FRUITS : HOW TO GROW THEM 



THE CHERIMOYER OR PERUVIAN CUSTARD APPLE 



The oldest cherimoyer (Anona cherimolia) is growing in Santa 

 Barbara. The fruit was introduced about fifty years ago, and the parent 

 tree has for many years produced abundant fruit in such perfection 

 that the seeds have readily germinated, and the trees thus propagated 

 have been in successful bearing in several Santa Barbara gardens. 

 The leaves are oval and pointed at both ends; flowers solitary, very 

 fragrant, and having a greenish color. Good specimens of the fruit 

 are three or four inches in diameter, often heart-shaped, grayish brown 

 or nearly black when fully ripe. The flesh, in which thirty or forty 

 brown seeds are found, is soft, sweet, and pleasant to the taste, being 

 most palatable when near decay. Mr. I. H. Cammack, of Whittier, 

 describes the pulp as of the consistency of ice cream or a custard 

 flavored with a blending of pineapples and bananas. If it has a fault 

 it is too rich. Apparently it has no particular season for ripening, yet 

 the best specimens seem to be found in Santa Barbara in April and 

 May. The cherimoyer is also found in gardens in San Diego and Los 

 Angeles counties. It needs a well-protected situation. The fruit has 

 been marketed on a limited scale in Los Angeles, and larger plantations 

 have been made, especially in the Cahuenga Valley, near Los Angeles. 

 The plant comes true from seed and the tree bears in its fourth year, 

 and should have as much room as an orange tree. Mr. C. P. Taft, of 

 Orange, points out the fact that much can be gained by selection and 

 propagation from the most satisfactory trees, as follows : 



Cherimoyers found in the gardens of southern California are almost always 

 seedlings, and generally shy bearers. There is but one named variety, so far 

 as I am aware, the Golden Russet. This is very prolific and frequently attains 

 large size. Specimens above one poimd in weight are not uncommon. The 

 qualit^ is as good as any, but is variable owin~ to the season and time of 

 ripening, much cold having a marked deteriorating effect. The normal shape 

 is like that of the strawberry, and the variations from the normal are equally 

 abundant; in fact, in this respect the cherimolia is quite extraordinary, as the 

 same tree will have on it fully matured fruit from less than an inch in diameter 

 up to six or eight inches. In size the tree averages about the same as the 

 peach. The market is a good one, large fruit commanding $3 per dozen or 

 more, while the smaller ones sell by the pound at a relatively lower price. 



THE CHOCHO OR CHAYOTA* 



The chocho plant is fruiting in Santa Barbara County, for Mr. 

 Kinton Stevens, of Montecito, who obtained the seed from Samoa. 

 Sechium edule is the botanical name of this plant, but it is perhaps 

 better known as "choco," "chocho," "chayota," and "Portuguese 

 squash." It belongs to the order cucurbitacae, and is a perennial vine, 

 resembling in growth and fruit our summer squash or vegetable mar- 

 row. It is a very prolific bearer. Both the fruit and the great yam- 

 like tuber are used as food by man and beast in the West Indies, where 

 it is considered a wholesome article of diet. The roots often weigh as 

 much as twenty pounds. They have a flavor similar to the yam, and 



*An interesting illustrated account of this plant by K. A. Ryerson may be found in the 

 University of California Journal of Agriculture, April, 1914. 



