Annona glabra - Pond Apple

Pond Apple is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. It grows in swamps, is tolerant of saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil. The tree grows to a height of around 10-12 m. It has thin, gray trunks and sometimes grow in clumps. The leaves are elliptic to oblong with a pointed tip, 8-15 cm long and 4-6 cm broad. Flowers about 2-2.5 x 2.5 cm. Flowers parts are thick and fleshy. Sepals are triangular, about 5-8 x 5-7 mm. Outer petals are about 2.2-2.5 x 1.8-2 cm with a red spot above the base on the inner surface, inner petals about 2.3 x 1.5 cm, with a yellow spot above the base on the inner surface. The fruit is oblong to spherical and apple-sized or larger, 7-15 cm long and up to 9 cm across, and falls when it is green or ripening yellow. It disperses by floating to new locations, and it is food for many animal species. It is edible for humans, and can be made into jam, although the taste is usually not preferable to Sugar Apple and other related fruits. The flesh is sweet-scented and agreeable in flavor, but it has never attained general popular use.