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Annona mucosa

Annona mucosa

Jacq.
Araticum

Family: Annonaceae
Order: Magnoliales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

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Description


Annona mucosa is a species of flowering plant in the custard-apple family, Annonaceae, that is native to tropical South America. It is cultivated for its edible fruits, commonly known as biribá, lemon meringue pie fruit, or wild sugar-apple, throughout the world´s tropics and subtropics.

Common names: The Brazilian name, biribá, has become somewhat well known. Nonetheless, the fruits are occasionally known by other names, including wild sugar apple and aratiku.

 Biribá is a fast-growing, flood-tolerant, sun-loving tropical tree, with leaves up to long. It can reach a height of , which can bear fruit from seed within 3 years. The fruit is large, conical or round, green when unripe, ripening to yellow. Its surface is covered with soft spines or protuberances which bruise and blacken with handling. This delicacy, together with a shelf life of less than a week, has limited its commercial cultivation. However, it is an increasingly popular tree for homestead cultivation in tropical areas.

The fruit pulp is very soft and sweet, tasting somewhat like a lemon meringue pie. Some reports of the flavor are extremely favorable, others more moderate. It is generally eaten out of the hand, though some chefs have used it for cooking, and wine has been made out of it in Brazil.

Cultivars: Propagation is usually by seeds, which can remain viable for 2 years kept dry and in the dark, though air-layering and grafting are possible to preserve specific cultivars. Grafting onto rootstocks of Annona montana or Annona glabra causes dwarfing. Little work establishing superior cultivars has been done and considerable genetic variability exists. ´Regnard´ is perhaps the best-known cultivar, which was introduced into the Philippines in 1917. The largest is ´biribá do Alto Solimoes´, developed in Brazil, which can weigh up to , making it probably the third largest fruit of the Annona family after the junglesop and the soursop.

Other uses: The wood of the biribá tree is durable and suitable for boat construction.

Source: Wikipedia, article Annona mucosa. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 18/07/2026.





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Species photographs

Count: 2

Foto
Photography ID: 550908
  Adult

Morretes RPPN - Etambóia
Paraná
Brazil
03/12/2023
Rppn Etambóia
Foto
Photography ID: 535882
  Adult

Morretes RPPN - Etambóia
Paraná
Brazil
04/29/2023
Rppn Etambóia


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Species records

Count: 2



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
176905829/04/2023BrazilParanáMorretes RPPN - EtambóiaRppn Etambóia
189318712/03/2023BrazilParanáMorretes RPPN - EtambóiaRppn Etambóia
Page 1 of 1

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Annona mucosa – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 14/09/2026.