''Annona mucosa'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the custard-apple family,

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

, that is native to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. It is cultivated for its edible fruits, commonly known as biribá, lemon meringue pie fruit, or wild sugar-apple, throughout the world's tropics and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

Common names

The Brazilian name, ''biribá'' has become somewhat well known. Nonetheless, the fruits are occasionally known by other names, including ''wild sugar apple'' and ''aratiku''.

Description

Biribá is a fast-growing, flood-tolerant, sun-loving tropical tree, with leaves up to 35 cm long. It can reach a height of , which can bear fruit from seed within 3 years. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is large, conical or round, green when unripe, ripening to yellow. Its surface is covered with soft spines or protuberances which bruise and blacken with handling, giving it an unappealing appearance. This delicacy, together with a shelf life of less than a week, has limited its commercial cultivation. However, it is an increasingly popular tree for homestead cultivation in tropical areas. The fruit pulp is very soft and sweet, tasting somewhat like a

lemon meringue pie Lemon meringue pie is a dessert pie consisting of a shortened pastry base filled with lemon curd and topped with meringue. History Fruit desserts covered with baked meringue were found beginning in the 18th century in France. Menon's ''pomme ...

. Some reports of the flavor are extremely favorable, others more moderate. It is generally eaten out of the hand, though some chefs have used it for cooking, and wine has been made out of it in Brazil.

Cultivars

Propagation is usually by seeds, which can remain viable for 2 years kept dry and in the dark, though air-layering and grafting are possible to preserve specific cultivars. Grafting onto rootstocks of '' Annona montana'' or ''

Annona glabra ''Annona glabra'' is a Tropics, tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the soursop and cherimoya. Common names include pond apple, alligator apple (so called because American alligators often eat the fruit), swamp appl ...

'' causes dwarfing. Little work establishing superior cultivars has been done and considerable genetic variability exists. ‘Regnard’ is perhaps the best known cultivar, which was introduced into the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 1917. The largest is 'biribá do Alto Solimoes', developed in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, which can weigh up to 4 kg, making it probably the third largest fruit of the Annona family after the

junglesop ''Anonidium mannii'', the junglesop, is a fast-growing tropical African tree that grows to 8–30 m high, with a girth of up to 2 m.Useful plants of Bas-Congo province, DR Congo (2004) It has 20–40 cm long leaves and large flowe ...

and the

soursop Soursop (also called ''graviola, guyabano'', and in Hispanic America, ''guanábana'') is the fruit of ''Annona muricata'', a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is wid ...

Other uses

The wood of the biribá tree is durable and suitable for boat construction.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q20011741, from2=Q15428647, from3=Q311475 deliciosa Tropical fruit Flora of South America Flora of Brazil Trees of South America Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN