Custard Apple "Cherimoya" (Annona cherimola)

The Cherimoya or Custard-apple (species: Annona cherimola) is an edible fruit tree native to the Andes mountain region of South America. It is now widely planted as a fruit tree. The images in this post are from the south of Spain near the city of Málaga.

The leaves of this spreading tree are about 3-5 inches long with a simple ovate shape, pinnate venation and entire margins. They are also a bit warped.

The fruit of the Cherimoya is irregular and "heart" shaped in its own unique way. The ripe fruits are green with a smooth skin and a distinct pattern (see image below).

The flesh is a creamy color and quite soft and smooshy when ripe making it easy to eat with a spoon.
The seeds are roughly almond shaped and black. They are fairly easy to spit out when you get one or several in your spoonful of the soft sweet flesh.

The bark on younger trees is smooth but rough and cracked on older trees like the one below.


4 comments:

  1. we had this fruit in our yard and my father would pick this fruit from the tree and then put it in a serving tray for our dessert...he loves this fruit

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  2. your a hero soulsearcher!

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  3. This is my new favorite fruit.. and I'm about to plant some of its seeds. :)

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  4. Does it have healing properties?

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