The Annon family has more than 2,000 plant species. Many of them are economically valuable - they give tasty fruits or aromatic oils. All annonaceous plants grow in the tropics, since they absolutely cannot tolerate frost. The only exception is the genus Asimine. Some of its representatives may go beyond the tropics. But at the same time they are still thermophilic.
The only plant in the Anova family that can tolerate frosts to -30 ° C is the three-lobed azimine (banana tree). This variety is distributed throughout the United States, up to the borders with Canada. It is this azimine that is causing increased interest among Russian gardeners.
External signs of a plant
The azimine is a three-lobed very neat tree with a pyramidal crown. In the wild, this member of the Annonian family can grow up to 15 m. However, when cultivated in a garden, the trunnion azimine trunk usually does not exceed 5-10 m. The distinguishing features of this plant, in addition to the crown of regular shape, are a beautiful smooth bark and rather large leaves .
Bloom
Pawpaw flowers are also large - about 6 cm in diameter. The six petals of the corolla have a very unusual - reddish brown - hue. Moreover, the flower has several pistils. Subsequently, each of them, in case of successful pollination, turns into an ovary, and then into a fetus. The smell of azimina flowers is weak, but it is very unpleasant. In the wild, this plant is pollinated mainly by scavenger flies. The fact is that the flowers of this unusual tree smell like rotten meat.
Three-bladed pawpaw (American pawpaw - another name for it), despite the spectacular appearance of the crown, is cultivated by summer residents, of course, not as an ornamental plant. Its value lies primarily in tasty and healthy fruits. You can eat them both fresh and canned.
Fruit Description
Three-lobed azimine blooms in spring - for at least three weeks. After this, the corolla petals crumble and the fruits begin to set. The length of the latter is about 10 cm, diameter - 5 cm. Up to 9 fruits can grow from each flower. Their skin is very thin, and the flesh is reminiscent of soft butter. The color of the unripe fruits of pawpaw is green. After a while, it becomes yellowish. The ripe fruits of this plant are dark brown in color. They are stored very poorly. Therefore, they are either eaten fresh right away, or directly on the day of collection they make jam, jam, stewed fruit, etc. You can also pick yellow-green fruits from the tree and store them until ripe. But in this case they will not be too juicy.
Actually, absolutely everyone who has ever tasted the taste qualities of pawpaw fruits is delighted. The reason for this is mainly high sugar content. Americans believe that the taste of pawpaw fruits resembles custard. The smell is also very pleasant.
Biological features
In our country, the azimine is three-lobed, despite the fact that it can withstand very low temperatures, it is grown mainly only in the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, as well as in the south of the Rostov Region. In these regions, summer residents often do not even cover it for the winter. In the Sochi region, several high-yielding varieties of azimina of three-bladed have been bred.
Sometimes this non-traditional fruit culture for Russia can be seen in orchards and in colder regions of the country. For example, sometimes the three-lobed azimine is even grown in the suburbs. However, in cold areas, this culture, of course, requires careful shelter for the winter. After all, the air temperature in winter in central Russia sometimes drops below -30 degrees. This fruit crop is planted in pairs. Despite the fact that in each flower of pawpaw there are both pistils and stamens, pollination is cross in her.
The fruits of a banana tree ripen unevenly. At the same time, mature ones are very poorly kept on branches and quickly crumble. They begin to rot the very next day. Indeed, a very tender and juicy fruit pulp is one of the distinguishing features of such a plant as a three-lobed azimine. The seeds of this plant are very large (like a watermelon). They are located in two rows. The fruits of azimina ripen in the 5-8th year after planting. The vaccine crop can be harvested already in the second year.
The value of the fruits of pawpaw
Properties The fruits of this plant are truly unique. At home, pawpaw, in America, the peasants treat them with poisoning. Residents of the tropics are confident that after a month of eating the fruits of this plant, the intestines are completely cleared of all the slags accumulated in it. And this, in turn, has a very beneficial effect on overall well-being.
In addition, the fruits of azimina have an antimicrobial and even antitumor effect. In the United States, they are often used for the prevention and even for the treatment of cancer. According to the results of research conducted by scientists, the juice and pulp of azimines inhibit the growth of tumors even better than many medicines.
The seeds of this plant can be used as an emetic. Many American women also make rejuvenating face masks from the pulp of paw fruit. It is believed that they surpass even many expensive chemical cosmetics in terms of effectiveness.
Propagation Features
In the wild, the three-lobed azimine can be found mainly on fertile soils along the banks of water bodies. It forms thickets very thick, because it gives a lot of growth. In the conditions of gardens and vegetable gardens, it is propagated only by seeds and root offspring. Gardeners advise varietal azimine to inoculate on wild animals using the “split” method.
The root system of this plant is very sensitive. Therefore, three-lobed azimine seedlings to transfer to another place is highly not recommended. The same goes for seedlings.
Growing Features
Three-bladed azimine is completely undemanding to the composition of the soil. It can be planted even on heavy clay soils. But the sun loves this plant very much. To shade seedlings is necessary only in the first two years of cultivation.
Three-bladed azimine is often poured. The soil under this tree must be constantly moist. However, water stagnation must not be allowed. Azimine is fed with both organic and mineral fertilizers. Excellent for this purpose are the same manure, ash or urea. It is useful to prune adult plants for substitution, since the fruits of pawpaw are formed on last year's shoots. Of course, in the spring it is necessary to remove all diseased, improperly growing and frozen branches. For winter, it is advisable to cover the pawpaw with a spanbond.