• Family : ANNONACEAE
  (CUSTARD-APPLE FAMILY)
• Family (as per The Plant List) : Annonaceae
• Species : Annona reticulata
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Annona reticulata L.
• Common name : Bullock's Heart
• Vernacular name : Ram-phal (Hin.); Rama-phala (Kan.); Ramaseetha (Tam.); Rama-phalamu (Tel.); Ram-phala, Barhial (Ori.)
• Key identification features : A medium size tree that is often cultivated, but generally grows wild and yields edible fruits. The leaves are shiny and dark-green. The branches are dark-brown. Flowers are unimpressive, both sepals and petals being sepal-like. The fruit, looking like Bullock's heart, is 3-4 inches in dia. and reddish-brown when ripe. It is similar to custard apple in that the several ovaries of the flower become united with each other and with the floral axis or the receptacle forming a fleshy mass in which seeds are embedded. The fruit pulp, however, is not so sweet or tasty as that of custard apple. Bark is greyish with vertical irregular superficial fissures.
• Habit : Tree
• Flower, Fruit : May-January
• Native : Tropical America
• Comments : Cultivated widely in Tropics for its edible fruits.
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• World Distribution : Cultivated in tropics
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1 ; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District ; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipal, Orissa; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Annona reticulata. Downloaded on 21 November 2024.

Description

Field Images