Pond Apple

Description:

The trees grow to a height of around 10–12 m. They have thin, gray trunks and sometimes grow in clumps. The leaves are ovate to oblong with an acute tip, 8–15 cm long and 4–6 cm broad. The fruit is oblong to spherical and apple-sized or larger, 7–15 cm long and up to 9 cm diameter, and falls when it is green or ripening yellow. It disperses by floating to new locations, and it is food for many animal species use.

Habitat:

The tree is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. It is common in the Everglades. It grows in swamps, is tolerant of saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil.

Notes:

It is edible for humans, and can be made into jam, although the taste is usually not preferable to Soursop and other related fruits. The flesh is sweet-scented and agreeable in flavor, but it has never attained general popular.