Of exotic fruits we have many of the common ones here in Uganda; Jackfruit, Eugenia uniflora, Annona squamosa, different citrus, melons and some grafted avocado and mango to name a few. Then all the indigenous species; Tamarind being one of them, but the climate is good for just about all tropical and subtropical species though a bit on the dry side.

Hi Tony,
Welcome - I had the same question (what's my "zone") but with a bit of google search discovered that I am in zone 12 (http://www.backyardgardener.com/zone/africa.html)...

I am growing a 'similar' species from Uganda; Momordica foetida - which is edible and not bad at all, it is spread by birds and is seen in disturbed soils where it at times can exclude other vegetation from being established by creating dense mats of vines.
It is also used for medicine purposes.

Soren,

About the time we published the results of most of the first generation of Annona hybrids,  we were gathering seeds of a second generation, bred by crossing first generation hybrids with each other.  Those were planted.  When they were good-sized in 3-gallon containers, ready to plant out to the field, Zill suddenly decided to donate them all to the Chapman Field Experiment Station of the USDA.  When I offered to aid the person there to interpret my notations on the tags, he wasn't interested, saying he was going to "group them by families."

I once got to see the hybrids in their field there, as I looked through the window of a speeding tour bus on open-to-the-public day.

Har - I am sorry to hear that, you must have been heartbroken about this.! Were there other interesting hybrids which emerged from the work done, not necessarily of commercial interest? 

Epic pictures/galleries! I don't know how many hours I've spend watching at this pictures..

I agree, it is a must-see.

Thanks Adam,
I am a bit curious which rare Annona spp. the members are growing, and if further attempt where made by Garry and Har on the hybridization (with a reference to GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON HYBRIDIZING ANNONA SPECIES. Gary E. Zill and Har Mahdeem, 1998).? I understand A. diversifolia was abandoned as a parent for this project, but used (successfully?) by others. Are there any known cultivar of these hybrids?

Quote from: Guanabanus on March 06, 2012, 10:18:29 PM

"Leather-Leaf" and "Excellent" are merely translations of "coreacea" and "excellens".  The latter, which I used to call "corbipetala" because I hadn't yet located a botanical description of it,  is very ornamental and aromatic, but of mediocre eating quality, at least as grown here.  My only tree died years ago after being roughed up by the hurricanes of 2004-2005.

Guanabanus,

I've seen the tree you speak of i think.

Does the leaf look much more coriaceous, and glabrous than muricata?

They are also less cold sensitive, with larger leaves?

I may be able to get you some bud stix of this one.  It must be quite rare, because I've never seen it in a book, or on the web...just in person.

Maybe its not the same?

Har - without further attempt to derail this topic - we are all hungry for more information on rare Annona and your knowledge on hybridization within this genus, can't we have a new thread on subject?

Found the photo on another thread - guess I am a bit slow linking the two 
Anyway nice big size, the protrusions are smaller than observed on my fruits, but the individual conical segments much better.



I am assuming this is the right picture?

From the yahoo group I can see Anestor wrote "...have a tree that bears fruit large (Var. Humungous), whose fruits are not very sweet" and "...produces big fruits on a small tree. It weighed more than 1,500 kg".
No information whether this tree is a seedling or not.

There are often a symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids, where the ants protects the aphids against predators for the return of food (honeydew). By disrupting this relationship, it is often possible to ensure the aphids get wiped out by parasitoids and  other predators. To do this, a rubberband or ducktape around the stem of the fruit tree will prevent the ants for moving further up, and thereby leave the aphids vulnerable.

I currently have seeds of Sarteneja Red Custard Apple, "Big Red" Sugar apple , "Big Green" Sugar apples and the "Giant Amazon Beauty" Rollinia.

Any photos of the "Giant Amazon Beauty" that can give a hint about size, shape and appearance? I have heard from others about your big biriba fruits.

Fruit appearance varies on the same tree at the same time, so it is un-wise for me to speak definitively, but Anestor's photo shows fruits that are more oblong and heavier lobed than mine.

True, there can be expected a phenotypic diversity in the 'fruit' characters for the same genotype - this caused a minor inconsistency for our work with Abies procera many years back.

Soursop, Mountain-Soursop, Leather-Leafed Sop, and Excellent Sop all can be interbred with each other...

Not familar with the names Leather-Leafed Sop and Excellent Sop, which botanical names are these?