Annona stenophylla

Engl. & Diels

Annonaceae Edible: Fruit 4 iNaturalist observations

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Troos van der Merwe

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Summary

Annona stenophylla is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to Tanzania and Zambia. Adolf Engler and Ludwig Diels, the German botanists who first formally described the species, named it after its narrow leaves (Latinized forms of Greek στενός, stenós, and φύλλον, phúllon).

Description

A low bush. It has underground stems or rhizomes. It grows 1 m high. The stems are usually annual and simple. The leaves are 4-18 cm long by 1-6 cm wide. They are narrowly oval. The veins are orange or red. The flowers occur singly. The fruit are 2-3 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. There are several seeds. They are 7-9 mm long. It has large fruit.

Edible Uses

The pulp of ripe fruit is eaten raw or cooked. The ripe fruit can also be soaked in water, squeezed, and filtered to make juice. It is a staple food of the Bushmen and particularly enjoyed by children.

Traditional Uses

The pulp of the ripe fruit is eaten raw or cooked. The ripe fruit are soaked in water then squeezed and filtered for juice.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

A paste of the roots is used in traditional medicine in Zimbabwe to treat Sexually transmitted infections and as a snake repellant. Bioactive molecules extracted from the bark of the root are reported to have hypoglycemic activity in diabetic mice. The pulp of the ripe fruit is edible, with a sweet and pleasant taste. It is sought after for eating out of hand and also pressing for juice.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in sandy or burnt out ground. In Tanzania it grows between 500-1,600 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Botswana, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Propagation

The seed of many species in this genus has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up germination. 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.

Other Information

They are a staple food of the Bushmen. The fruit are enjoyed by children.

Notes

There are about 100-150 Annona species.

Synonyms

Annona friesii Robyns & Ghesq.Annona friesii var. elongata Robyns & Ghesq.Annona stenophylla var. nana R. E. Fr.

Also Known As

Maroro, Mfila, Mshofu, Mtopetope, Muroro, Omutyaalale

References (18)

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Flora Zambesiaca. http://apps.kew.org/efloras
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 82
Lee, 1979,
Maguire, 1978,

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