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tary, nodding, and with a distinct odor. The exterior petals are 

 thick and fleshy, ovate-acute, valvate or edge-to-edge; the in- 

 terior petals are somewhat smaller and thinner, concave, rounded, 

 imbricate or overlapping, and yellowish, or sometimes reddish, 

 in color. 



The sour-sop fruit matures at all seasons, but is most abundant 

 in the summer months. It is large, oblong or heart-shaped, 

 sometimes blunt and conical; in weight it varies from- one to 

 fifteen pounds. The larger fruits are usually quite superior in 

 texture and flavor to the small ones; the Oriental gardeners 

 habitually pick the fruit before it has properly matured. The 

 skin or rind is glossy, dark green, and studded with numerous 

 recurved fleshy spines, which correspond to the carpels. The 

 flesh or pulp is soft, white, and cotton-like in texture; it contains 

 a large amount of juice, which is pleasantly subacid, with a slight 

 mango-like or turpentiney flavor. The flesh separates readily 

 into a number of fibrous sections, the carpels; each contains a 

 single shining black seed, about a half-inch long. The copious 

 juice of the sour-sop makes it a favorite fruit for the preparation 

 of sherbets, punches, jellies, etc. Although not as sweet as 

 some of the other Annonas, the sour-sop possesses a rich sugar 

 content, and is by no means as tart as its name suggests. A 

 closely related species, which does not occur in Hawaii, is the 

 Annona montana MacF., the mountain sour-sop of Mexico and 

 Central America. The fruit of this species is not edible, but the 

 tree is used as a stock in Florida, as it is much hardier than the 

 sour-sop. It would undoubtedly prove of distinct value in the 

 Hawaiian Islands, as stock for growing the sour-sop at the higher 

 elevations. 



Several other species that are closely related to the sour-sop 

 may be mentioned as worthy of introduction into the Hawaiian 

 group. Annona purpurea M. & S., the "negro-head" of Mexico 

 (also called Cabeza de Negro, Soncoya, and Toreto), is abundant 

 on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and is commonly sold in the 

 markets of Mexico and south to Panama. The fruit is six to 

 eight inches in diameter, deeply and conspicuously muricate, with 

 delicious fragrant flesh. Annona diversifolia Safford is another 



