184 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



which open by a slit down the side. Leaves 2 to 5 meters long, mostly bipinnate, with 

 swollen rachises; leaflets 10 to 30 cm. long, 1.5 to 4 cm. wide, the margin entire or. 

 slightly toothed. 



This species is common on many Polynesian islands. It grows in the Philippines, 

 India, Japan, Madagascar, and Queensland. It is easily propagated by the flesh v 

 scales at the base of each frond, each scale containing at least two dormant buds. In 

 Samoa the name by which the natives distinguish it is also applied to Marattiu 

 fraxinea, an allied species with the same habit of growth. 

 References: 



Angiopteris evecta (Forst.) Hoffm. Com. Goett. 12:29. t. 5. (ex Luerssen in 



Schenck & Luerssen, Mittheilungen aus der Botanik 1 : 257. 1874. 

 Polypodium evectum Forst. Prod. 81. 1786. 

 Ango (Samoa). See Curcuma longa. 

 Anilao (Guam). See Grewia multiftora. 

 Afiilis (Guam). See Indigofera anil and I. tinctoria. 

 Anis hinojo (Philippines, Guam). See Foeniculum foeniculum. 

 Annatto. See Bixa orellana. 



Annona muricata. Soursop. Plate xxxiii. 



Family Annonaceae. 



Local names. — Laguand (Guam); Guanabano (Philippines, Mexico, Peru). 

 A small tree bearing large oblong or conical, dark green fruit having a rough spiny 

 skin and filled with soft white juicy acid pulp. The leaves are elliptical, pointed, 

 glossy above and rusty beneath, becoming glabrous; young growth scurfy-pubescent; 

 flower with six petals, the three outer ones acute, greenish, the three inner ones more 

 conspicuous, obtuse, yellow or red; pistils many, each with one erect ovule, uniting 

 to form the fleshy fruit or syncarpium. 



In Guam this species is not so commonly cultivated as the sugar apple (A. squamosa) . 

 It has a pleasant acid flavor. The natives make jelly of it and preserve the fruit. 

 In the East Indies it is used for flavoring ice cream and puddings. It is of American 

 origin and was introduced into Guam at least a century ago. The vernacular name, 

 laguand, is probably derived from La Guanabana, the Spanish-American name of 

 the fruit. 



References: 



Annona muricata L. Sp. PL 1: 536. 1753. 

 Annona reticulata. Bullock's heart. Custard-apple. 



Local names. — Anonas (Guam, Philippines); Corazon (Porto Rico). 

 A tree of American origin, -1 to 8 meters high, bearing a smooth, heart-shaped 

 fruit with small depressions on the surface, yellowish before maturity and often 

 becoming a deep red at length, which gives to it its appropriate English name. 

 Leaves lanceolate or oblong and pointed, glabrous above and rough, at length becom- 

 ing smooth beneath; flowers with the three exterior petals oblong-linear and keeled 

 on the inside, acute, greenish, with purple spots at the base; inner petals minute; 

 pistils many, united into the fleshy syncarpium (multiple fruit). 



In Guam this species has established itself more fully than the others of the genus. 

 It is found growing wild in the woods and along roadsides. The fruit is long in 

 ripening, the plant yielding but one crop a year, while ripe fruit of the sour-sop and 

 sugar-apple can be found during most months of the year. The flavor of the fruit 

 of Annona reticulata growing in Guam is not nearly so good as that of tlie other 

 species. It is sweet but insipid, and the pulp has a tallow-like consistency. The 

 natives do not esteem it highly, but it is a favorite food of the "fanihi," or fruit- 

 eating bat of the island (Pteropus keraudreni). 

 References: 



Annona reticulata L. Sp. PI. 1: 537. 1753. 



