THE CUSTARD APPLE FAMILY 



ANONACEyE de Candolle 



HERE arc some 46 genera of Anonacese, containing nearly 600 species, 

 widely distributed in tropical regions of both the Old World and the 

 New, a few only in the temperate zones. They have alternate entire- 

 margined leaves without stipules. The flowers are solitar)^ or clus- 

 tered; there are 3 sepals and usually 6 petals, the latter in two series, the outer series 

 mostly larger than and otherwise differing from the inner; there are numerous 

 stamens and pistils. The fruit is large, mostly compound by the coalescence of 

 the ripening ovaries, fleshy in our species. 



This family produces ver>' httle that is of general economic importance, but 

 manv of its jjroducts are locally useful in the tropics, furnishing, as it does, many 

 medicines, spices, and a large variety of edible fruits; best known of these are the 

 Soursop, from Anona muricata Linnaeus, of tropical America, the Sweetsop from 

 A. squamosa Linnaeus, cultivated in all tropical countries, also called Cherimoya, 

 which name, however, should be apphed to the Peruvian A. Cherimoya Miller. 

 The Custard-apple, also called Bullock's heart, is the fruit of A. reticulata Linnaeus. 

 The popular perfume Ylang-ylang is extracted from the flowers of Artahotrys 

 odoratissima R. Brown, of the Malay region. 



The two genera of the arborescent flora of the United States are distinguished 

 as follows: 



Petals imbricated; fruit simple. i. Asimina. 



Petals valvatc; fruit compound. 2. Anona. 



I. NORTH AMERICAN PAWPAW 



GENUS ASIMINA ADANSON 



Species Asimina triloba (Linnaeus) Dunal 



Anona triloba Linnaeus 



SMALL tree or tall shrub, the type of the genus, which occasionally 



becomes 12 or 15 meters high and forms a trunk up to 2.5 dm. in 



diameter. It chiefly inhabits river valleys, and occurs from west central 



New Jersey to western New York, southern Ontario, Michigan, and 



Kansas, southward to Florida and Texas. It often forms dense thickets. 



The thin smooth bark is dark gray to brown, with Hghter colored blotches, the 

 young twigs reddish brown, hair\', becoming smooth, the small buds densely hairy. 

 The leaves are hairy w^hen unfolding, but become smooth or nearly so, except on 



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