CUSTARD APPLE. 465 



round; color yellow. Much grown in lower Florida and to a less 

 extent in South Arizona and California. 



CUSTARD APPLE. 



In tropical and semi-tropical climates this name is applied to 

 several species of the Anona of the natural order Anonacese. 



The large, and in some cases very large, fruits are extensively used 

 in the tropics, and are seen in the markets of Southern cities and 

 rarely at the North. No attempt has been made as yet to improve 

 the fruit by culture or crossing, but some of the selected varieties are 

 under cultivation in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. 



VARIETIES AND SPECIES. 



Bullock's Heart (Anona reticulata) . Large to very large, three to 

 four inches in diameter, heart-shaped; color dark brown, with de- 

 pressions of skin giving a quilted expression ; pulp yellow on the outside 

 and white in the center; sweet, excellent; much prized in Southern 

 Florida. 



Peruvian (Jamaica, Cherimoyer) . Very large, three to four inches 

 in diameter; of ten heart-shaped ; color brown or nearly black. Flesh 

 soft, sweet, pleasantly flavored. As Prof. Wickson says : " If it has a 

 fault it is too rich." Grown as far north as Santa Barbara in Cali- 

 fornia, and in South Arizona and Florida. 



Pond Apple (Anona glabra). A small, nearly evergreen tree. Fruit 

 size of a Bellflower apple; heart-shaped, conical; color brownish 

 yellow; pulp cream-colored, fragrant; fair in quality. Native to 

 swamps in Southern Florida, but does well under culture. 



Soursop (Anona muricatd). Very large, long, often eight inches 

 in length and weighing five pounds; color dark green, with rough skin 

 and soft prickles; color greenish; pulp with agreeable sour taste and 

 an aroma that many do not like. Only grown in South Florida, on 

 the Keys, and in extreme South California. 



Sweetsop (Anona squamosa). This is the Sugar apple of the 

 West Indies. Fruit large, three to four inches in diameter, egg- 

 shaped; color yellowish green with protuberances and depressions of 

 skin; rind rather thick. Flesh creamy yellow and custard-like, 

 sweet, and, to those accustomed to its use, delicious. Quite exten- 

 sively cultivated in lower Florida, in extreme Southwest Texas near 

 Brownsville, and in South California. 



