www.growables.org/information/Tr...iculata-new.htm
Growables
Origin
Although it is said that A. reticulata is a native of the Antilles. the presence in Guatemala and Belize of a wild variety, A. reticulata var. primigenia, and also of a very wide variability of cultivars suggests that this zone is the species' area of origin. It has been introduced in other regions of the American tropics and Southeast Asia, without achieving a level of importance comparable to that of A. cherimola or A. squamosa. 2
The Custard Apple is believed to be a native of the West Indies but it was carried in early times through Central America to southern Mexico.
While in Hawaii it is not well known, it is commonly grown in the Bahamas and occasionally in Bermuda and southern Florida. 1
Description
A. reticulata is a low tree with an open, irregular crown and slender, glabrous leaves which in some varieties are long and narrow, 10 to 20 x 2 to 7 cm, straight and pointed at the apex; and in other varieties wrinkled and up to 10 cm wide. The flowers are generally in groups of three or four, with three long outer petals and three very small inner ones. The fruit is heart-shaped or spherical and 8 to 15 cm in diameter; according to the cultivar, the flesh varies from juicy and very aromatic to hard with a repulsive taste. There is a wide variability in the presence of groups of hard cells that are similar to grains of sand. Both the outside and inside colour varies according to the cultivar. 2