Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



283 



but greatly inferior in quality. The listing of the Cherimoya under the name 

 "Custard Apple" has already led to much confusion among nurserymen and hor- 

 ticulturists in this state, some, knowing that this name was applied to A. reticulata 

 going so far as to list this species and A. Cherimolia as synonymous. Further- 

 more, the Cherimoya suffers a certain loss of prestige through this confusion — 

 sufficient in itself to merit careful discrimination on the part of all those describing 

 or listing it. 



Climatic Requirements 



That the Cherimoya is not highly successful in strictly tropical countries is 

 conclusively shown by the fact that even when it has been grown for some time 

 in such regions and is comparatively well known, it is not held in high esteem. 

 It is reported that it succeeds in some parts of Ceylon, and is popular with the 



Figure 123. A Cherimoya tree in the A. Z. Taft grove at Hollywood, California, 

 probably one of the finest specimens in the State. 



natives. Obviously it is not at its best or it would call for a greater degree of 

 enthusiasm. In Jamaica it is only a success in the coolest and dryest parts of 

 the island. Writers in other parts of the West Indies, and in Reunion, have 

 remarked that it is not as fine a fruit as some other members of the genus. 



But a glance at its popularity in the Mexican highlands, Madeira, the Canary 

 Islands, and Peru shows a contrary state of affairs. It has reached a degree of 

 perfection never attained in tropical lowlands, and is esteemed as one of the 

 finest of all fruits. 



