Annona cacans

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

Fruit - raw. The pulp is succulent and aromatic with a sweet flavour and many seeds; it is used for making juice, ice cream, and sweets. The fruit is slightly laxative, especially if eaten in quantity.The green, oblong fruit can be 13cm long and 11cm wide.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in highland forests in Brazil. It grows from sea level to 1,500 m above sea level.

Brazil*, Middle East, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, South America,

How to Identify

A tree. It grows 12-16 m high. The crown is smooth and round. The trunk is 50-70 cm across. The bark is thick and peels off. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are simple and shiny. They have leaf stalks. The leaves are 8-17 cm long and 3-6 cm wide. The flowers are in the axils of leaves. They are usually in small groups. The fruit is large and oblong. It can be 14-15 cm long. The seeds are light brown and about 1 cm long. The pulp of the fruit is sweet and juicy.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from fresh seed. The seeds are washed out of the ripe pulp with water. Seeds will only store for about 6 months. The dried seeds should be scratched to break the hard seed coat before sowing. Seeds germinate in 40-80 days. Seedlings are transplanted into the field after 6 months.

Propagation: Seed - it has a very hard outer layer and germinates much more easily if scarified. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Sow the seeds in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers in a lightly shaded position. Germination rates of scarified seeds are usually above 30%, with the seed sprouting within 40 - 80 days. Transplant nursery bed sown plants when they are 4 - 6cm tall into individual containers. They should be ready to plant out about 6 months later.

Medicinal Uses

The fruits are purgative.

Other Uses

The wood is light in weight, not very durable, smooth to work and easy to cut. Of low value, it is only used for items such as ceiling boards, boxes and cheap toys. It is sometimes used for pulping to make paper. The wood is used for fuel, though it is of poor quality/

Annona cacans, with the common names: araticum-cagão, araticum de paca, araticum-pacarí, is a fruit tree native to Atlantic Forest and Cerrado vegetation in Brazil and Paraguay.

Production

Plants grow rapidly. They can be 4 m high in 2 years.

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