Page images
PDF
EPUB

G. P. W. Collection.

Anona reticulata.

CUSTARD APPLE.

PLATE LV

This tree, which is not common in Hawaii, is rather delicate, and grows to a height of from 10 to 15 feet. It is a native of the Antilles, and is a very popular tree in the West Indies. It thrives. in Southern California. Its leaves, which are either lanceolate or oblong and pointed, are glabrous above and rough beneath. In color they are light green and rather brittle, when bruised they emit a very unpleasant odor.

The flowers are three-petaled and are greenish or yellowish, with purple spots at the base. Artificial pollination will induce the flowers to set and produce better crops. The heartshaped fruit is from 3 to 5 inches in diameter. The skin is smooth, with small depressions; when ripe, it is a pinkish-yellow and shading to a russet. Next to the skin the pulp is soft and creamy-yellow, while toward the center it is quite white. The flavor is sweet and delicious. There are numerous smooth, black seeds. This fruit, like its cousin the Cherimoyer grows true to seed.

[graphic][merged small]

G. P. W. Collection.

Anona squamosa.

SUGAR APPLE-SWEET SOP.

PLATE LVI

This small tree is native of the West Indies, from which country the plants found growing in many of our gardens in these Islands were imported. The thin leaves are ovate-oblong, and are very slightly hairy on both sides. The greenish flowers are about an inch long. The fruit which is from 3 to 4 inches in diameter, is the shape of a pine cone; it is greenish-yellow when ripe, and each carpel forms a slight portuberance. The sweet, creamy-white pulp is very delicious. There are numerous small smooth, brownish-black seeds, which germinate readily, and the plants bear fruit in from two to four years. This variety of anona is sensitive to drought, and thrives well at the high elevations.

[graphic][merged small]

G. P. W. Collection.

Psidium Guayava pomiferum.

(Common guava.)

PLATE LVII

The Guava is an extensive genus of low-growing evergreen trees, found chiefly in the West Indies, South America, and China. They have become naturalized in Hawaii, and may be found growing wild on waste lands and by the roadside. In some localities growing so rank as to become troublesome. The leaves are oval to obiong, usually accuminate, glabrous above and pubescent beneath, and have prominent veins. The fragrant, white, solitary flowers are axillary.

The somewhat rough skin of the globose fruit is a brownishyellow, and the firm, dark-pink pulp, in which is embedded numerous seeds, is generally acid and aromatic. This guava is the source of the famous guava jelly of commerce.

« PreviousContinue »