刺果番荔枝 ci guo fan li zhi

Trees to 10 m tall, evergreen. Bark rugose. Petiole short; leaf blade obovate-oblong to ovate-elliptic, 5-18 × 2-7 cm, papery, abaxially greenish and glabrous, adaxially green and shiny, secondary veins 6-13 on each side of midvein and slightly prominent on both surfaces, base broadly cuneate to rounded, apex acute to obtuse. Inflorescences axillary, 1- or 2-flowered. Flowers ca. 3.8 cm in diam. Pedicel 0.5-2.5 cm, pubescent. Sepals ovate-elliptic to ovate-triangular, 3-5 mm. Petals green, later yellowish, inside basally without a red spot; outer petals thick, broadly triangular, 2.5-5 × 2-4 cm, inside finely pubescent, apex acute to obtuse; inner petals ovate-elliptic, 2-4 × 1.5-3.5 cm, slightly thin, imbricate, pubescent, base clawed, apex obtuse. Stamens 4-5 mm; filaments fleshy; connectives apically dilated. Carpels ca. 5 mm, pubescent. Syncarp green, ovoid and often oblique or curved, 10-35 × 7-15 cm, covered with soft prickles, base impressed, apex rounded; pulp white. Seeds brownish yellow, reniform, ca. 2 × 1 cm. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. Jul-Dec. 2n = 14, 16.

Widely cultivated; 100-400 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [native to tropical America].

The fruit, soursop, is the largest among Annona species. It is eaten raw, used in sherbets, and used in drinks. The pulp is also consumed with wine or cognac.