One of the Tropics’ Most Rewarding Fruit Trees

Soursop has been cultivated across the tropics for generations, and for good reason. Annona muricata is an evergreen fruit tree that combines genuine ornamental appeal — glossy dark foliage, upright habit, growing to around 10 metres — with fruit production that, in the right climate, is prolific and surprisingly fast to begin.

The Fruit

The soursop fruit is large, distinctive and immediately recognisable — oval, dark green with a leathery soft-spined skin, ripening to yellow-green and weighing anything from one to several kilograms. The flesh inside is white, juicy and aromatic, with a flavour that is genuinely difficult to describe to anyone who hasn’t tasted it: the brightness of strawberry and pineapple, a sour citrus edge, and underneath it all a creamy, tropical richness reminiscent of banana and coconut. It is a flavour that rewards the effort of growing it.

The fruit is exceptional in cold drinks and juices — widely used across the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific for exactly this purpose — and equally good eaten fresh.

Fast, Prolific and Cassowary Approved

On the Cassowary Coast, soursop is entirely in its element. It establishes readily in the wet tropical climate, grows vigorously, and begins fruiting within around 18 months — exceptionally fast for a tree of this quality and one of its most compelling practical virtues. Once productive it fruits prolifically, providing a generous harvest through the season.

Cassowaries will take fallen fruit with enthusiasm, which makes soursop a useful addition to any property within cassowary habitat — a tree that feeds the household and supports the local wildlife in equal measure.