Southern Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Asimina parviflora (Michx.) Dunal
- Family: Custard Apple (Annonaceae)
- Flowering: April-May
- Field Marks: This species differs from others in the genus by its smaller flowers less than one inch across and its short fruits less than 3 inches long.
- Habitat: Rich woods, hammocks, steep ravines.
- Habit: Shrub up to 10 feet tall.
- Twigs: Reddish brown hairy at first, becoming smooth and grayish brown at maturity.
- Leaves: Alternate, simple, oblong to obovate or oblanceolate, pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, without teeth, smooth at maturity, except for some hairs on the veins on the lower surface, up to 8 inches long.
- Flowers: Solitary, borne in axils of the leaf scars, maroon, up to 3/4 inch across, usually with a slightly bad odor.
- Sepals: 3, maroon with a few brown hairs on the back, free from each other, up to 1/3 inch long.
- Petals: 6, in 2 circles of 3, maroon, somewhat fleshy, the outer 3 up to 3/4 inch long, recurved at the pointed tip, with some reddish hairs on the outside, the inner 3 similar but about half as long.
- Stamens: Numerous.
- Pistils: 5-7, free from each other, with appressed red hairs.
- Fruits: Berries greenish yellow at maturity, smooth, up to 3 inches long.
- Notes: The fruits are edible and particularly relished by wildlife.
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