|
|
 |
Home
 Plant Profiles |
 
|
|
| Pale Triangle Plant Profile |
| Article by Frank Jordan, June, 2001 | |
Soursop (Annona muricata)
The Soursop is one of the relatives of the custard apple. It has the largest fruit of this group, up to 20cm long and up to 3kg in weight. The short fleshy spines on the fruit give it a reptilian look. The fruit is sweet but also tangy and acidic.
The tree is slow growing, eventually reaching about 5 metres. It has glossy green leaves and unusual flowers (hidden inside the calyx) which grow from the trunk and main branches. In some varieties hand pollination of these flowers results in a better fruit set. It does not have the large spreading habit of the custard apple so would be more acceptable in a suburban garden. The tree is frost tender and, in Brisbane, mine loses all its leaves in winter even when there is no frost. The tree likes a lot of water and responds well to fertilizer. There are named varieties available but I grew mine from seed.
Caterpillars of the Pale Triangle (Graphium eurypylus) (formerly known as the Pale Green Triangle) feed on the leaves. The round eggs are usually laid on the fresh young leaves. The caterpillars go through several colour changes, from black when very small, to a rusty brown during the middle stages, becoming green in the final instar.
The Pale Triangle, comes in yellow, pale blue and pale green. Why don’t you find out which of the colour forms you first get when you grow this tree as a host plant in your garden.
This article was written by Frank Jordan and appeared in Newsletter Issue Number 21, June, 2001.
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
