THE CUSTARD APl'LI- lAMILV. 169 



THE CUSTARD APPLE FAMILY. 



A nouacccB. 

 Includhig 7nostly aromatic shrubs or trees with sijnple, alternate a?ui 

 entire leaves and perfect, axillary flowers lohich have their petals ar- 

 ranged in two series. Fruit : usually fleshy. 



CUSTARD APPLE, {/'late LIV.) 

 A s i/n in a spi 'cidsc i . 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Custard apple. Wllowish. ScciitUss. Eastern Florida and Ma > , ft , A /'r ,7. 



(,'cori;/a. l-rit it : J u lu- . 



Flowers : large ; showy ; nodding ; growing in a raceme-like wav on shoots of 

 the preceding year and appearing before the leaves are much grown. St-f^ats : 

 three ; ovate ; densely pubescent. Petals : six, in two rows, oblong, the three 

 outer ones the larger and pubescent on the outside. Fnat : one and a half or 

 nearly two inches long ; yellowish white ; obovale or oblong and containing few 

 seeds. Leaves: oblong or narrowly obovate, bluntly pointed at the apex and 

 tapering at the base into the margined, pubescent petiole ; when young covered on 

 both sides with a dense and velvety yellowish pubescence, at maturitv becoming 

 glabrous on the upper side ; thick. A small shrub two to three feet high ; the 

 young twigs covered with a "^awny pubescence. 



Through our range this genus of plants is well represented, and mostly 

 its members a^e found in the sandy soil of pine barrens, or in dry strips 

 along the coast. The custard apple and the species that follow would per- 

 haps be the ones more generally encountered. 



A. reticulata principally differs from the foregoing plant in that its leaves 

 are but sparsely pubescent when young, soon becoming glabrous. They 

 are from an inch to three and a half inches in length, oblong and of a pale, 

 apple-green tone of colour. Also, they are thick, leather-like, and much 

 reticulated. The flowers are among those which come into bloom before 

 or just as the leaves develop. 



A. pygju^a displays characteristics at variance with those of the already 

 mentioned species. Its flowers, pale yellow, or green, turn as they fade to 

 dark purple. They also appear after the leaves. These latter are long 

 and narrow, blunt at their apices and tapering towards the bases. When 

 mature they are quite smooth. 



A. augusti/olia belongs to the same group as Asimiaia pyonia-a although 

 it is to be noticed that the colour of its yellowish white flowers remains 

 unchanged in age. Its linear, lanceolate, or oblanceolate leaves are on both 

 sides smooth, and later than they the flowers appear singly in their axils. 



A. triloba. North American papaw or custard apple, is perhaps the most 



