Another Amazonian fruit that barely has any information about it online, courtesy of Joe Hewitt again.
The Basics
Envira caju is a fruit tree in the Annonaceae family, the same family as soursop, rollinia, and sugar apple.
Origin and Habitat
It comes out of the Amazon, and it’s very new to Hawaii — one of those rare tropical fruits that doesn’t really get sold or grown outside its home region.
What It Looks Like
Not much documented about its growth habit historically, though ours is now over 25 feet tall, so at least on our farm it’s clearly capable of real size.
Uses and Flavor
By reputation it’s one of the tastiest fruits to come out of the Amazon. Joe says Hawaii can sometimes produce superior quality fruit on this one compared to what’s grown back in Brazil, maybe something about our climate here. If that holds up, this could end up being an even bigger deal for us than rollinia.
Growing It Here
Got this from Joe Hewitt. Given how little precedent there is for growing it anywhere outside the Amazon, this is very much an experiment in progress. It’s now over 25 feet tall, but it’s showing signs of the same mysterious disease or pest affecting Annonas across Hawaiʻi right now, with heavy defoliation across the bottom half of the tree. No fruit yet, so the flavor question and the disease question are both still open at the same time.
Pests and Diseases to Watch For
The unidentified Annona disease or pest going around the islands is the one to watch, it’s showing up as heavy defoliation low on the tree, and it’s affecting our cherimoya and junglesop as well.
Kenta’s Take
I like the idea that Hawaii might actually grow this one better than its home turf. Twenty five feet of growth says the potential is real, now it’s just a race between this tree fruiting for the first time and whatever’s causing that defoliation.