Annona glabra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Annona glabra

Fruit

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Angiosperms

Clade: Magnoliids

Order: Magnoliales

Family: Annonaceae

Genus: Annona

Species: A. glabra

Binomial name

Annona glabra
L.
Annona glabra is a tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as
the Soursop and Cherimoya. Common names include pond apple, alligator apple (so called
because American alligators often eat the fruit), swamp apple, corkwood, bobwood, and monkey
apple.[1] The tree is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West
Africa.[2] It is common in the Everglades. The A. glabra tree is considered an invasive species in Sri Lanka and
Australia. It grows in swamps, is tolerantof saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil.

Contents
[hide]

 1Description
 2Ecology
 3Uses
 4Invasive species
 5Control Strategies
o 5.1Australia
 6References
 7External links

Description[edit]
The trees grow to up to 12 m. They have narrow, gray trunks and sometimes grow in clumps. The leaves are
ovate to oblong, each with an acute tip, 8–15 cm long and 4–6 cm broad with a prominent midrib. The upper
surface is light to dark green. Leaves of the A. glabra are said to have a distinct smell, similar to green apples,
that can distinguish it from mangroves.[3] The fruit is oblong through spherical and apple-sized or larger, 7–
15 cm long and up to 9 cm diameter, and falls when it is green or ripening yellowish. It disperses by floating to
new locations, and it is food for many animal species such as wild boar. Reproduction begins around two years
of age. A fruit contains 100 or more convex, light yellow-brown seeds, about 1 cm long.[4] A. glabra flowers
have a short life-span, and have a diameter of 2-3cm. The flowers have three outer petals as well as three inner
petals. Compared to the pale yellow or cream color of the petals, the inner base of theA. glabra flower is a
bright red.[3]

Ecology[edit]
A. glabra thrives in wet environments. The seeds and fruit of this plant can be dispersed during wet seasons
where they fall into swamps and rivers. This allows the seeds and fruits to spread to coastlines. A 2008 study
found that A. glabra seeds can withstand floating in salt water and fresh water for up to 12 months. About 38%
of those seeds can then germinate in soil, though A. glabra roots do not do well with constant
flooding.[5] Another study in 1998 found that even under intense flooding, the 12-month lifespan of A.
glabraseedlings was unaffected; the growth rate of A. glabra trees did decrease however over a 6-month
period. Compared to other Annona seeds and trees, the A. glabra is still more resilient to instances of
flooding. [6]

Uses[edit]
Unlike the other Annona species, the pulp of the fruit when ripe is yellow through orange instead of
whitish.[7] The fruit is edible for humans and its taste is reminiscent of ripeHoneydew melon. It can be made
into jam, and it is a popular ingredient of fresh fruit drinks in Maldives.[8]
The flesh is sweet-scented and agreeable in flavor, but it has never attained general popular use unlike Soursop
and other related fruits. Experiments in South Florida have been conducted to use it as a
superior rootstock for Sugar-apple or Soursop. While the grafts initially appear to be effective a high
percentage of them typically fail over time. Soursop on Pond-apple rootstock has a dwarfing effect.
Recent research suggests that its alcoholic seed extract contains anticancer compounds that could be used
pharmaceutically.[9]

Invasive species[edit]
It is a very troublesome invasive species in northern Queensland in Australia and Sri Lanka, where it grows in
estuaries and chokes mangrove swamps. The A. glabra tree was introduced to North Queensland sometime
around 1912 as both a rootstock for similar Annona species such as Annona atemoya, the custard apple. [10]A.
glabra seedlings carpet the banks and prevent other species from germinating or thriving. It also affects farms
as it grows along fencelines and farm drains. It also invades and transforms undisturbed areas.[11] This can be
observed in the case of Australia’s Eubenangee Swamp National Park where an outbreak occurred due to poor
wetland management.[3]
In Australia, A. glabra seeds can be spread by the southern cassowary. Seeds of the fruit have been found in
cassowary dung with dispersal distances of up to 5212 m recorded in one 2008 study in the journal Diversity
and Distributions. [12] The southern cassowary itself however is an endangered species in Australia. According
to the Australian government’s Department of the Environment and Energy, there is only around 20-25% of
cassowary habitat remaining. Additionally, part of the government’s recovery plan includes actions towards
establishing nurseries filled with plants that the cassowary consumes. [13] Because the A. glabra is among the
foods eaten by southern cassowary, revegetation may be necessary to ensure that cassowary have alternative
food sources available. When the A. glabra population is controlled, natural vegetation can regenerate without
human intervention. [3]
Because of its impact on the environment as an invasive weed, the Australian government classifies the A.
glabra as a Weed of National Significance (WONS).[14] Additionally, theA. glabra was considered the highest
ranked species in 2003 in a Wet Tropics bioregion weed risk assessment.[10] In Sri Lanka it was introduced as a
grafting stock for custard apples and spread into wetlands around Colombo.[4]

Control Strategies[edit]
Australia[edit]
The Australian government views the A. glabra as a weed, and as such offers through its Department of the
Environment and Energy a control plan created in 2001 for citizens that aims at eliminating the A. glabra by
20 years. The plan includes six steps that property owners can take to determine how to control and monitor an
outbreak of A. glabra as well as how to minimize financial damage. To disincentivize the cultivation and
spread of A. glabra by humans, its sale and entry is banned throughout most of Australia.[3]
Options for the control of the A. glabra include fire, chemical, and mechanical controls including combinations
of the three types. The best time of year to do so according to the government of Australia is during the time
between August to November, which is the dry season. There are currently no studies that have looked at the
biological control of A. glabra within Australia. Without studies, any actions taken to eliminate the A.
glabra with biological controls could inadvertently affect native Australian apple species that belong to the
same family.[3]

References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Annona
glabra.
 Wikispecies has
information related
to: Annona glabra

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Ward, Artemas (1911). The
Grocer's Encyclopedia.

1. Jump up^ Standley, Paul C. (1922). "Trees and Shrubs of

Mexico". United States National Herbarium. 23 (2): 281–282.
2. Jump up^ "Annona glabra". Germplasm Resources Information
Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f "Control methods and case
studies" (PDF). Department of the Environment and Energy.
Retrieved 2017-03-25.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Lalith Gunasekera, Invasive Plants: A guide to the
identification of the most invasive plants of Sri Lanka, Colombo 2009, p.
112–113.
5. Jump up^ Setter SD, et al. (2008). "Buoyancy and germination of pond
apple (Annona glabra L.) propagules in fresh and salt water". Sixteenth
Australian Weeds Conference: 140–142.
6. Jump up^ Núñez-Elisea R (1998). "Impact of Flooding on Annona
Species". Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc.: 317–319.
7. Jump up^ Annona glabra fruit Archived February 18, 2015, at
the Wayback Machine.
8. Jump up^ FAO Trees and shrubs of the Maldives
9. Jump up^ Cochrane CB, Nair PK, Melnick SJ, Resek AP,
Ramachandran C (2008). "Anticancer effects of Annona glabra plant
extracts in human leukemia cell lines". Anticancer Research.
International Institute of Anticancer Research. 28 (2A): 965–
71. PMID 18507043.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b Setter SD, et al. (2004). "Longevity of pond apple
(Annona glabra L.) seeds and implications for management". Fourteenth
Australian Weeds Conference: 551–554.
11. Jump up^ ”Pond apple (Annona glabra) weed management guide”,
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
Communities, Canberra,
athttp://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/weeds/publication
s/guidelines/wons/pubs/a-glabra.pdf
12. Jump up^ Wescott, David A. (2008). "Cassowary dispersal of the
invasive pond apple in a tropical rainforest: the contribution of
subordinate dispersal modes in invasion". Diversity and
Distributions.14 (2): 432–439.
13. Jump up^ "The Southern Cassowary". Department of the Environment
and Heritage.
14. Jump up^ "Adaptive Management: Pond Apple Control In the
Catchments of the Russel-Mulgrave and Tully-Murray River
Systems" (PDF). Wet Tropics Management Authority. 2004.

External links[edit]
 Pond-apple as an invasive species in Australia
4891

07100

: kew-2640872

1600683

01

1703

418648

08-1

84

008506

008506
ANGL4

479
Categories:
 Annona
 Tropical fruit
 Invasive plant species
 Flora of West Africa
 Trees of Antigua and Barbuda
 Trees of the Bahamas
 Trees of Belize
 Trees of Brazil
 Trees of Colombia
 Trees of Costa Rica
 Trees of Cuba
 Trees of Dominica
 Trees of Ecuador
 Trees of the Southeastern United States
 Trees of Guadeloupe
 Trees of Guatemala
 Trees of Hispaniola
 Trees of Honduras
 Trees of Jamaica
 Trees of Martinique
 Trees of Mexico
 Trees of Nicaragua
 Flora of Nigeria
  Trees of Panama
 Trees of Puerto Rico
 Flora of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 Flora of Sierra Leone
 Trees of northern South America
 Invasive plant species in Sri Lanka
 Plants described in 1753
Navigation menu
 Not logged in

 Talk

 Contributions

 Create account

 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Search
Go

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
In other projects
 Wikimedia Commons
 Wikispecies
Languages
 Asturianu
 Català
 Cebuano
 ަ ‫ިދ ެވ ިހ‬
ް‫ބސ‬
 Español
 ‫فارسی‬
 Français
 Italiano
 മലയാളം
 Nāhuatl
 Перем Коми
 Polski
 Português
 Română
 Русский
 Simple English
 Svenska
 Удмурт
 Українська
 Tiếng Việt
 Winaray
 中文
Edit links
 This page was last edited on 4 May 2017, at 17:58.
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional
terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.

 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Developers
 Cookie statement

 Mobile view