Cherimoya
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The cherimoya (Annona cherimola), also spelled cherimoyer<ref name="Collins">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dictionary">Template:Cite web</ref> and chirimoya, and called chirimuya by the Quechua people, is a species of edible fruit-bearing plant in the genus Annona, within the family Annonaceae, which also includes the closely related sweetsop and soursop. The plant has traditionally been regarded as native to Ecuador and Peru,<ref name="Morton">Template:Cite web</ref> with cultivation long practised in the Andes and Central America.<ref name=Morton/><ref name="Lost crops"/><ref name="e29845">Template:Cite journal</ref> A more recent hypothesis, however, proposes Central America as the species’ place of origin, since many of its wild relatives occur naturally in that region.<ref name="e29845"/><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>
Cherimoya is grown in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world including Central America, northern South America, southern California, South Asia, Australia, the Mediterranean region, and North Africa.<ref name="Morton" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> American writer Mark Twain called the cherimoya "the most delicious fruit known to men".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The creamy texture of the flesh gives the fruit its secondary name, the custard apple.
Etymology
The name is derived from the Quechua word Template:Lang, which means "cold seeds". The plant grows at high altitudes, where the weather is colder, and the seeds will germinate at higher altitudes.<ref name=Morton/> In Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, the fruit is commonly known as chirimoya (spelled according to the rules of the Spanish language).
Description
Annona cherimola is a fairly dense, fast-growing, woody,<ref name="aft">Template:Cite web</ref> briefly deciduous<ref name="UoC">Template:Cite web</ref> but mostly evergreen, low-branched, spreading tree<ref name="aft"/> or shrub,<ref name="UoC"/> Template:Convert tall.<ref name="aft"/>
Mature branches are sappy and woody.<ref name="UoC"/> Young branches and twigs have a matting of short, fine, rust-colored hairs.<ref name="aft"/><ref name="PIER">Template:Cite book Via Template:Cite web</ref> The leathery leaves are Template:Convert long<ref name="PIER"/><ref name="ntbg">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Convert wide,<ref name="PIER"/> and mostly elliptic, pointed at the ends and rounded near the leaf stalk. When young, they are covered with soft, fine, tangled, rust-colored hairs. When mature, the leaves bear hairs only along the veins on the undersurface.<ref name="aft"/> The tops are hairless and a dull medium green with paler veins,<ref name="ntbg"/> the backs are velvety,<ref name="UoC"/> dull grey-green with raised pale green veins. New leaves are whitish below.<ref name="ntbg"/>
Leaves are single and alternate, dark green, and slightly hairy on the top surface.<ref name="aft"/> They attach to branches with stout Template:Convert long and densely hairy leaf stalks.<ref name="PIER"/>
Cherimoya trees bear very pale green,<ref name="ntbg"/> fleshy flowers. They are Template:Convert long<ref name="UoC"/> with a very strong, fruity odor.<ref name="ntbg"/> Each flower has three outer, greenish, fleshy, oblong, downy petals and three smaller, pinkish inner petals<ref name="aft"/> with yellow or brown, finely matted hairs outside, whitish with purple spots<ref name="UoC"/> and many stamens on the inside.<ref name="PIER"/> Flowers appear on the branches opposite to the leaves, solitary or in pairs or groups of three,<ref name="aft"/><ref name="PIER"/> on flower stalks that are covered densely with fine rust-colored hairs, Template:Convert long. Buds are Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide at the base.<ref name="PIER"/> The pollen is shed as permanent tetrads.<ref name="LoraTestillano2009">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Fruits
The edible cherimoya fruit is a large, green, conical<ref name="ntbg"/> or heart-shaped compound fruit,<ref name="aft"/> Template:Convert long,<ref name="aft"/> with diameters of Template:Convert,<ref name="PIER"/> and skin that gives the appearance of having overlapping scales or knobby warts. They ripen to brown with a fissured surface<ref name="ntbg"/> in late winter and early spring;<ref name="UoC"/> they weigh on the average Template:Convert, but extra-large specimens may weigh Template:Convert or more.<ref name="aft"/>
Cherimoya fruits are commercially classified according to degree of surface irregularity, as follows:<ref name="Morton" /> 'Lisa', almost smooth, difficult to discern areoles; 'Impresa', with "fingerprint" depressions; 'Umbonata', with rounded protrusions at the apex of each areole;<ref name="Scheldeman" /> 'Mamilata' with fleshy, nipple-like protrusions; or 'Tuberculata', with conical protrusions having wart-like tips.
The flesh of the cherimoya contains numerous hard, inedible, black, bean-like, glossy seeds, Template:Convert long<ref name="aft"/> and about half as wide.<ref name="PIER"/> Cherimoya seeds are poisonous if crushed open.<ref name=Morton/> Like other members of the family Annonaceae, the entire plant contains small amounts of neurotoxic acetogenins, such as annonacin,<ref name=Morton/> which appear to be linked to atypical parkinsonism in Guadeloupe.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Moreover, an extract of the bark can induce paralysis if injected.<ref name="Morton"/>
Distribution and habitat
Widely cultivated now, A. cherimola is believed to have originated in the Andes of South America at altitudes of Template:Convert,<ref name="aft"/><ref name="e29845"/> although an alternative hypothesis postulates Central America as the origin, instead, because many of the plant's wild relatives occur in this area.<ref name="e29845"/> From there it was taken by Europeans to various parts of the tropics. Unlike other Annona species,<ref name="aluka-glabra">Template:Cite web</ref> A. cherimola has not successfully naturalized in West Africa.<ref name="aluka"/>
- Native
- Neotropic:
- Western South America: Ecuador, Peru<ref name="GRIN"/><ref name="BI">Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref>
- Current (naturalized and native)
- Neotropic:<ref name="aft"/><ref name="BI"/><ref name="NRCS">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Caribbean: Florida, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico
- Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
- Northern South America: Guyana, Venezuela
- Southern North America: Mexico
- Western South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
- Southern South America: Chile, Brazil
- Palearctic: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, France, Italy, Spain, Madeira, Azores
- Afrotropic: Eritrea, Somalia, Tanzania,
- Indomalaya: India, Singapore, Thailand
A. cherimola is not native to Chile.<ref name=Alimentarias>Template:Cite book</ref> When it was introduced is unknown, but it happened likely in pre-Hispanic times.<ref name=Alimentarias/> Traditionally, it has been cultivated in the valleys and oases of the north, as far south as the valley of Aconcagua.<ref name=Alimentarias/>
Ecology
Pollination
The flowers of A. cherimola are hermaphroditic and have a mechanism to avoid self-pollination.<ref name=Morton/> The short-lived flowers open as female, then progress to a later, male stage in a matter of hours. This requires a type of pollinator that not only collects the pollen from flowers in the male stage but also deposits it in flowers during the female stage. Because cherimoya's genus, Annona, includes subtropical species greatly valued for human food and ecosystem services, its pollinators have been well studied. A 2017 publication points to small nitidulid sap beetles as the key pollinators:
Beetles arrived at the flowers with their bodies covered in pollen and these pollen grains were transferred to the stigmata while foraging on nutritious tissues at the base of the petals. With dehiscence of the stamens and retention within the floral chamber, the bodies of the floral visitors were again covered with pollen which they carried to newly opened flowers, thus promoting the cycle of pollination.<ref name="beetle-annona-2017">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Because the beetle pollinators are not strong fliers, their entire lifecycle must be facilitated onsite in both orchard and forest restoration settings. The flower itself offers the ideal copulation chamber after beetles enter during the female (earliest) stage. At the inner base of the petals are nutritious tissues called "power bodies" on which the beetles feed until the male stage peaks. Exiting the flower at that time, pollen attaches to the bodies of the beetles, which they carry to yet another flower in its female stage. There, another round of feeding and possible copulation ensues.<ref name="beetle-annona-2017" />
Abundant leaves, rotting fruit, and other organic material on the ground beneath or near the flowering Annona species are crucial for the larval stage of the beetle. There eggs are laid, the larvae hatch and feed on decaying matter, then digging downward into the soil layer to pupate. Beetles emerge when flowering begins the following year.<ref name="beetle-annona-2017" />
In orchards distant from wild habitat, pollination by hand may be necessary. Growers use a small paint brush to collect the pollen from the male stage of flowers and then to also transfer pollen to the female stage.<ref name="beetle-annona-2017" /> Another method is to encourage the sap beetles to engage in full life cycles, primarily by allowing leaf litter to accumulate and some fallen fruits to remain beneath the trees.<ref name="pawpaw-pollinators">Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate requirements
The evaluation of 20 locations in Loja Province, Ecuador, indicated certain growing preferences of wild cherimoya, including altitude between Template:Convert, optimum annual temperature range between Template:Convert, annual precipitation between Template:Convert, and soils with high sand content and slightly acidic properties with pH between 5.0 and 6.5.<ref name="Scheldeman">Template:Cite web</ref>
In Western horticulture, growers are often advised to grow cherimoya in full sun,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the plant has been considered shade-tolerant in Japan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2001, a study conducted by Kyoto University showed shading of 50–70% sunlight was adequate to obtain an optimal light environment.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Cultivation
Cultivars
Template:Main The cherimoya of the Granada-Málaga tropical coast in Spain is a fruit of the cultivar 'Fino de Jete' with the EU's protected designation of origin appellation.<ref name ="council">Template:Cite web</ref> 'Fino de Jete' fruits have skin type Impressa and are smooth or slightly concave at the edges. The fruit is round, oval, heart-shaped, or kidney-shaped. The seeds are enclosed in the carpels and so do not detach easily. The flavor balances intense sweetness with slight acidity and the soluble sugar content exceeds 17° Bx. This variety is prepared and packed in the geographical area because "it is a very delicate perishable fruit and its skin is very susceptible to browning caused by mechanical damage, such as rubbing, knocks, etc. The fruit must be handled with extreme care, from picking by hand in the field to packing in the warehouse, which must be carried out within 24 hours. Repacking or further handling is strictly forbidden."<ref name ="council" />
Annona cherimola, preferring the cool Andean altitudes, readily hybridizes with other Annona species. A hybrid with A. squamosa called atemoya has received some attention in West Africa, Australia, Brazil, and Florida.<ref name="aluka">Template:Cite web</ref>
Propagation
The tree thrives throughout the tropics at altitudes of Template:Convert. Though sensitive to frost, it must have periods of cool temperatures or the tree will gradually go dormant.<ref name=Morton/> The indigenous inhabitants of the Andes say the cherimoya cannot tolerate snow.
In the Mediterranean region, it is cultivated mainly in southern Spain and Portugal, where it was introduced between 1751 and 1797,<ref name=Morton/> after which it was carried to Italy, but now can also be found in several countries of Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania. It is cultivated throughout the Americas, including Hawaii since 1790 and California, where it was introduced in 1871.<ref name=Morton/>
Harvest
Large fruits which are uniformly green, without cracks or mostly browned skin, are best. The optimum temperature for storage is Template:Convert, depending on cultivar, ripeness stage, and duration, with an optimum relative humidity of 90–95%.<ref name=Morton/> Unripe cherimoyas will ripen at room temperature, when they will yield to gentle pressure.<ref name=Morton/> Exposure to ethylene (100 ppm for one to two days) accelerates ripening of mature green cherimoya and other Annona fruits; they can ripen in about five days if kept at Template:Convert. Ethylene removal can also be helpful in slowing the ripening of mature green fruits.
Nutrition and edibility
Template:Cookbook Raw cherimoya fruit is 79% water, 18% carbohydrate, 2% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a Template:Cvt reference amount providing 75 calories, cherimoya is a moderate source (10–15% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C, vitamin B6, riboflavin, and potassium, with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).
"The pineapple, the mangosteen, and the cherimoya", wrote the botanist Berthold Carl Seemann, "are considered the finest fruits in the world, and I have tasted them in those localities where they are supposed to attain their highest perfection – the pineapple in Guayaquil, the mangosteen in the Indian Archipelago, and the cherimoya on the slopes of the Andes, and if I were asked which would be the best fruit, I would choose without hesitation, cherimoya. Its taste, indeed, surpasses that of every other fruit, and Haenke was quite right when he called it the masterpiece of Nature."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Fruits require storage at Template:Convert to inhibit softening and maintain edibility.<ref name=Morton/> Different varieties have different flavors, textures, and shapes.<ref name=Morton/> The flavor of the flesh ranges from mellow sweet to tangy or acidic sweet, with variable suggestions of pineapple, banana, pear, papaya, strawberry or other berry, and apple, depending on the variety.<ref name=Morton/> The ripened flesh is creamy white.<ref name="ntbg"/> When ripe, the skin is green and gives slightly to pressure. Some characterize the fruit flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach, and strawberry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The fruit can be chilled and eaten with a spoon, which has earned it another nickname, the "ice cream fruit". In Chile and Peru, it is commonly used in ice creams and yogurt.<ref name="Lost crops">Template:Cite book</ref>
When the fruit is ripe and still has the fresh, fully mature green-yellow skin color, the texture is like that of a soft ripe pear or papaya.<ref name=Morton/> When the skin turns brown at room temperature, the fruit is no longer good for human consumption.Template:Cn
Brand
Chirimoya Cumbe is a well-known case involving collective marks in trademark law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite webTemplate:Creative Commons text attribution notice</ref> The World Intellectual Property Organization has defined these collective marks as "signs which distinguish the geographical origin, material, mode of manufacturing or other common characteristics of goods or services of different enterprises using the collective mark." The owner of a collective mark are members of an association of such enterprises.
Cumbe is a valley in the Huarochiri province of Peru where the climatic conditions are favourable for growing chirimoya. The fruit produced in the Cumbe valley is considered of superior quality, with a large fruit size, soft skin, low seed index (number of seeds per 100 grams of fruit), and high nutrient value.
In 1997, Matildo Pérez, a peasant from a village community in the heights of Lima, decided to apply personally to the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property of Peru (INDECOPI) for the registration of the trademark "Chirimoya Cumbe." The application was refused since no exclusive rights in generic names can be granted to a single person. Mr. Pérez appeared at INDECOPI again, this time with a delegation headed by the Deputy Mayor of Cumbe, to register the "Chirimoya Cumbe" as a trademark which would give the community in Lima exclusive rights with respect to the name "Cumbe".
The INDECOPI officials explained that "Chirimoya Cumbe" is in fact an appellation of origin, not a trademark. To be more precise, the word "Cumbe" is an appellation of Peruvian origin, because the valley of Cumbe is a geographical area that gives certain distinctive properties to the Chirimoya grown there.
The people of Cumbe declined the proposition of appellation of origin: "It is said that with appellations of origin the State is the owner, and it is the State that authorizes use, and that is why we are saying no. We do not want the State to be the owner of the 'Cumbe' name."Template:Cn
After lengthy search for solutions, it was suggested that "Chirimoya Cumbe" should be registered as a "collective mark", the owners of which would be the people of Cumbe and which would be used according to rules that they themselves would lay down.
In 2022, the name "Chirimoya Cumbe" has its own characteristic logo and is registered as a collective mark in the name of the village of Santo Toribio de Cumbe (in Class 31 of the International Classification).<ref name=":0" />
Culture
The Moche culture of Peru had a fascination with agriculture and represented fruits and vegetables in their art; cherimoyas were often depicted in their ceramics.<ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.</ref>
Gallery
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Plantation in south Andalucia
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Cherimoya seeds
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Cherimoya-shaped bottle made by the Cupisnique culture around 1000 to 700 BC on the coast of what is now Peru
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See also
- List of cherimoya cultivars
- Atemoya (a cross of A. squamosa and A. cherimola)
- Pawpaw (Asimina spp.)
- Soursop (Annona muricata)
- Sugar-apple (Annona squamosa)
- White sapote (Casimiroa edulis) Template:Snd sometimes mislabeled as cherimoya
- Wild soursop (Annona senegalensis)
- Wild sweetsop (Annona reticulata)
References
External links
Template:Commons category Template:Wiktionary Template:Cookbook
- Pages with broken file links
- Edible fruits
- Tropical fruit
- Annona
- Flora of the Andes
- Crops originating from the Americas
- Crops originating from Chile
- Crops originating from Peru
- Crops originating from Ecuador
- Flora of Peru
- Flora of Ecuador
- Flora of Colombia
- Flora of Chile
- Flora of Bolivia
- Flora of Argentina
- Garden plants of South America
- Taxa named by Philip Miller