THE ANNONACEOUS FRUITS 183 



here for an excellent piece of work ; by obtaining a productive 

 variety and propagating it by budding, or by increasing the 

 productiveness of the species through improved cultural 

 methods, the soursop could be made profitable and of consider- 

 able commercial importance. In the large cities of tropical 

 America there is a good demand for the fruits at all times of the 

 year, a demand which is not adequately met at present. 



The.soursop is a small tree, usually slender in habit and rarely 

 more than 20 feet high. The leaves are obovate to elliptic 

 in form, commonly 3 to 6 inches long, acute, leathery in texture, 

 glossy above and glabrous beneath. The flowers are large, the 

 three exterior petals ovate-acute, valvate, and fleshy, the interior 

 ones smaller and thinner, rounded, with the edges overlapping. 

 The fruit is the largest of the annonas ; specimens 5 pounds in 

 weight are not uncommon and much larger ones have been 

 reported. It is ovoid, heart-shaped, or oblong-conical in form, 

 deep green in color, with numerous short fleshy spines on the 

 surface. The skin has a rank, bitter flavor. The flesh is white, 

 somewhat cottony in texture, juicy, and highly aromatic. 

 Numerous brown seeds, much like those of the cherimoya, are 

 embedded in it. The flavor suggests that of the pineapple and 

 the mango. 



Alphonse DeCandolle says that the soursop "is wild in the 

 West Indies; at least its existence has been proved in the 

 islands of Cuba, Santo Domingo, Jamaica, and several of the 

 smaller islands." Safford states that it is of tropical American 

 origin. The historian Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo, in his 

 "Natural History of the Indies," written in 1526, describes the 

 soursop at some length, and he mentions having seen it growing 

 abundantly in the West Indies as well as on the mainland of 

 South America. At the present day it is perhaps more popular 

 in Cuba than in any other part of the tropics. In Mexico it 

 occurs in many places, and the fruit is often seen in the markets. 

 It is also grown in the tropical portions of South America. H. F. 



