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Hardshell Custard Apple

Annona scleroderma

Also called Cawesh, Poshe Te, Wild Red Custard Apple

Annona scleroderma is a tropical fruiting tree in the custard apple family, reaching 15 to 20 m tall, with orange-sized fruit with creamy banana-pineapple flavored flesh. It is grown mostly in its native region, and a seed-grown tree takes about four years to fruit.

Family
Annonaceae (Annon family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while young and during dry spells; let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile loam or sandy loam.
Temperature
22–34 °C; protect below 10 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Mexico (Chiapas) to C. America
Climate
wet tropical

About

Annona scleroderma (also known as cawesh or poshe-te) is a species of tree in the Annonaceae family, with an edible fruit the size of an orange. The cream-colored flesh of the fruit has a creamy banana-pineapple flavor and a soft texture. The fruit's tough skin makes it easy to handle. The fruit is little known outside its native region. The tree reaches 15 to 20 meters tall. Its pollen is shed as permanent tetrads.

Its native range is the Atlantic coast of Central America, from Mexico and Guatemala to Honduras. It is not widely cultivated (except in certain parts of Guatemala). A tree grown from seed takes about four years until it begins producing fruit.

Other Annona plants

Cherimoya · Annona coriacea · Fleshyflower Annona · Pond apple · Wild cherimoya of Jalisco · Ilama · Mountain soursop · Sugar Apple · Soursop · Annona nutans · Annona paludosa · Annona

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Annona scleroderma by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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