Soursop

This tree’s fruit tastes as refreshing as its tropical home. We have a soursop that lives in the Nutrien Garden of Life inside the ENMAX Conservatory.

A unique taste hidden inside a prickly skin

A soursop produces fruit that can be up to 20 centimetres in length and weigh up to 4.5 kilograms. This fruit has a fleshy green skin covered in spines, and has a unique sour flavour reminiscent of pineapple, sour apple, and citrus, making it a favourite local ingredient for smoothies, sorbets, and ice creams. It produces yellow flowers that grow on a woody stalk all over the tree. 

 

  • Latin Name: Annona muricata
  • IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (at relatively low risk of extinction)
  • Type: Deciduous tree or shrub
  • Produces: Flowers and fruit
  • Habitat: Caribbean and tropical regions of Central and South America
  • USDA Climate Zone: 9 – 11
  • Size: Up to 9 metres tall
Soursop

Care & Conservation

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At the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, we are bringing together our passion for plants and animals with our dedication to taking and inspiring action to sustain wildlife and wild places.
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facts about our plants

Fun Facts about Soursops

While native to the Caribbean, this plant is now grown in tropical regions around the world.

The fruit smells like pineapples.

In the wild, the tree will continually produce flowers and fruit, but ours usually does so in the summer and fall.

After planting, soursops typically produce fruit in 3 to 5 years.

This plant is a favourite home for the tailed jay butterfly.

It is also known by the names guanabana and graviola.

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