75 



occur in extra-axillary clusters of several, emerging from the new 

 branchlets; peduncles nodding. The outer petals are fleshy, 

 oblong-linear, keeled on the inside and excavated at the base, 

 olive-green or yellowish, usually stained with purple within, and 

 with a dark purple blotch at the base. The inner petals are 

 very small, scale-like, ovate, and acute. The carpels are distinct; 

 the ovaries covered with pale brown silky hairs, at length uniting 

 to form a solid fruit. 



The custard-apple fruit, when mature, bears a striking super- 

 ficial resemblance to a large heart, hence the name bullock's 

 heart. It is three to five inches in diameter. The rind is smooth, 

 with small rhomboid or hexagonal areoles. It changes in color 

 from pinkish yellow through to reddish brown, and is covered 

 with a whitish bloom. It ripens very slowly and the tree yields 

 but one crop per year. The flesh is soft and creamy yellow, de- 

 licious in flavor, although cloying; in texture it is granular, and 

 adheres closely to the seeds. These are smooth, and dark- 

 brown, like those of the other species. The fruit is considered 

 inferior to both the cherimoya and the sugar-apple. In Guam 

 it is the favorite fruit of the native fruit-eating bat. 



It is interesting to note that the custard-apple, although rel- 

 atively uncommon in Hawaii, has spread spontaneously through 

 the forests of Guam and the Philippines. It is essentially a 

 tropical species, and Hawaii is undoubtedly too cool for its best 

 development. The fruit is rarely seen in the Honolulu markets. 



The last species that occurs in Hawaii is the sugar-apple, 

 Annona squamosa L., also known as sweet-sop, atte, pomme- 

 cannelle, annona blanca, abate de panuco, and caneel-appel. 

 This luscious fruit is more widely dispersed through the tropics 

 and subtropics, and more generally cultivated, than any other 

 species of the genus. It is native to the West Indies and tropical 

 America, and is distinctly tropical; it does not thrive under sub- 

 tropic conditions. However, it is common in many of the older 

 Hawaiian gardens, not only in Honolulu, but also on the other 

 islands of the group. 



The tree is fifteen to twenty feet high, with irregularly spread- 

 ing branches and conspicuously zigzag branchlets and twigs. 



