Annona liebmanniana
Annona liebmanniana
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the moister, lowland tropics, usually growing near sea level but also found at elevations up to 1,800 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 23 - 26°c, but can tolerate 8 - 32°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 3,500 - 4,500mm, but tolerates 3,000 - 5,000mm[2]. Young trees seems to grow better in shade, but older trees grow well in sunny positions[2]. Prefers a moist, well-drained, sandy loam with a pH around 6[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 7[2]. The tree may suffer from wind damage on exposed sites[2]. Trees can commence fruiting in just 4 years from seed, by which time they are 4 - 6 metres tall[4, 2]. Trees flower on the previous year's growth[4]. The fruit of this species has a thick exocarp, making it suitable for long-distant transport[5]. This gives it potential in breeding programmes with other members of the genus to develop fruits with thick skins suitable for shipping[6].
Propagation
Seed - usually breeds true to type[3]. Sow in individual pots, not deeper than 2cm, at 21c[3]. The seed of many species in this genus has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Semi-ripe cuttings[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Annona+liebmanniana>
Pollinators
Beetles, Insects
References
- [1]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]Trade Winds Fruit — http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/index.htm ↩︎The on-line catalogue of a company selling seeds. Gives descriptions, photos and uses of a very wide range of fruit and other food-producing plants plus ornamentals.
- [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
- [6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [7]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
- [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎