Annona coriacea

Annona coriacea (araticum in Portuguese) is a fruit tree native to Brazil. Its original habitat includes the ecoregions of Cerrado, Caatinga, and Pantanal. There, it is typically found in scrublands and savannahs, though it is sometimes grown in orchards. Its wood is used in constructions and toys. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. A. coriacea typically reaches 3-6 meters tall and has a globose crown. It has simple leaves and terminal flowers that produce edible fruits, which are densely hairy when young. The heavily fragrant flowers are primarily pollinated by beetles at night. This tree is susceptible to attack by the Mediterranean fruit fly.

Description

A small tree. It grows 3-6 m high. It can be taller. The trunk is 20-30 cm across. The leaves are simple and leathery. They are softly hairy underneath. The leaves are 9-15 cm long and 7-12 cm wide. The flowers occur singly. The fruit is a multiple fleshy fruit. It is heart shaped and fleshy.

Edible Uses

The fruit are eaten raw or made into juice and used for ice-cream. The fruit must become very ripe before seeds are separated from the pulp.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw or made into juice. They are used for ice-cream. Caution: The fruit are somewhat laxative.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Oil from the leaves is used as medicine.

Known Hazards

The fruit are somewhat laxative.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in Brazil in the savannah. It will grow in poor soils. It will grow in sandy, well-drained soils. It grows from 80-1,120 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Bolivia*, Brazil*, Paraguay, South America,

Cultivation

The fruit are allowed to become very ripe before the seeds are washed from the pulp. Seeds will not store well for longer than 6 months. The seed should be scratched before sowing to break the hard seed coat. Seeds germinate in 30-60 days. The seedlings need good sun and can be transplanted when 30 cm high.

Propagation

Seed - it has a very hard outer layer and germinates much more easily if scarified. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Sow the seeds in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers in a sunny position. Germination rates, even of scarified seeds, are quite low, with the seeds sprouting within 30 - 60 days. Plant out when the seedlings are 30cm tall.

Other Uses

The wood is light in weight, soft, with low mechanical properties but very durable. Easy to work, but it is of low value and is only used for making cheap objects such as packing cases, toys, pencils etc. The plant grows well, even in poor soils, and its edible fruits are also relished by the native fauna. It makes a good species to grow in reforestation projects of reclaimed and protected areas.

Production

The growth rate is slow but it can produce fruit when 2 years old.

Other Information

The fruit are not often eaten.

Notes

The oil from the leaves is used as medicine.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Araticum-de-campo, Araticum-liso, Marolinho, Marolo, Pinha-do-cerrado

References (12)

• Bioversity New World Fruits Database
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 29
• Bortolotto, I. M., et al, 2018, Lista preliminar das plantas alimenticias nativas de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia, Serie Botanica, Porto Alegre, 73 (supl.):101-116
• Fl. bras. 13(1):6. 1841
• Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 36

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