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Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



could not be gathered from the lot. One tree alone^ more prolific than the others^, 

 produces about one-fourth as many fruits as the remaining trees taken together. 

 It is easily seen that such a grove does not pay for the care bestowed upon it, 

 but if worked over to a prolific variety it could be transformed into a very profit- 

 able holding. 



It has been questioned by some whether the climate of California will pro- 

 duce a Cherimoya of the best quality. This query arises from the fact that many 

 of the fruits produced here are of poor flavor. The explanation is that seeds from 

 inferior fruits have been planted, and a lot of degenerate seedlings produced. 

 Experience leaves no doubt on this point, since some of the fruits grown here 

 are all that could be desired in flavor and quality. 



Botanical Description 



The genus Anona comprises about sixty species, indigenous to tropical 

 America and Africa. Several members of the genus are cultivated for their fruit, 

 notably the Sugar Apple (^4. squamosa), the Sour Sop {A. muricata) , and the 

 Custard Apple (A. reticulata). 



The Cherimoya, Anona Cherimolia Miller, while not so widely cultivated as 

 the above mentioned species, is nevertheless one of the most noteworthy and 

 valuable. It is a small tree, fifteen to twenty-five feet in height, much branched 

 and spreading, with grayish bark, the branches rounded and the young growth 

 scurfy-pubescent. 



Leaves alternate, ovate, acuminate, sometimes obtuse, bright green and 

 sparsely hairy above, grayish-pubescent beneath ; petiole five-eighths inch long. 

 Flowers solitary, axillary, small and very fragrant, peduncle short. Calyx com- 

 posed of three small, valvate sepals. Petals six, arranged in two series : the three 

 exterior valvate, fleshy, greenish outside and whitish within, oblong-linear, keeled 

 on the inner side; the three interior minute, sometimes wanting. Stamens indef- 

 inite, inserted on the hemispherical receptacle. Carpels, also indefinite, distinct but 

 cohering loosely among themselves and containing a single ovule ; style oblong. 

 Fruit compound, made up of the individual fruits (berries) derived from the 

 separate carpels, sunk in and united with the fleshy receptacle, sometimes eight 

 inches in length, conical, ovate, or globose, frequently irregular, greenish, brown- 

 ish or yellowish in color; the surface sometimes smooth, but frequently covered 

 or partially covered with more or less prominent protuberances, one arising from 

 each pentagonal carpellary area. Seeds three-eighths to three-fourths inch in 

 length, oblong or oval, more or less compressed, brown, containing the charac- 

 teristic ruminated endosperm. 



The Natural Order Anonaceae, to which the Cherimoya belongs, includes 

 46 genera and 620 species, according to Dr. Willis, the majority being found 

 within the tropics, both in the old world and the new world. The order includes 

 numerous fruit-producing shrubs and trees, of which may be mentioned in par- 

 ticular, besides the genus Anona, Rollinia orthopetala and R. emarginata, natives 

 of South America and among the finest of the anonaceous fruits; Asimina triloba, 

 the "Papaw" of eastern and central United States; and several species of 



