never heard it called Riñon, Rollinia and/or Biriba usually.

to avoid confusion, i wouldnt call anything a Custard Apple but Anona Reticulata.

im growing a Rollinia Biriba. they are similar to other Anonas.

Yeah... names are always a problem.
When I first started, I bought a Biriba at one place, and then later tat day a Rollinia at another.
When I got home and checked, of course, they are the same thing.
Neither has fruited yet. Since they are seedlings,they may end up being slightly different (they have different growing habits). If it tastes good,I will be happy to have 2!

SenileFelinesS:

I first tried Rollinia while taking a Sub-Tropical Fruit Culture Class back about 15 years ago. We were taught that the name of the fruit, depending upon which botanist you asked, was Rollinia mucosa or Annnoa mucosa. In either case, the common nickname was "snot fruit." You might imagine that the name was a bit of a turn off before the tasting began. The fruit we had was large and was really unremarkable in its flavor.....I would say insipid fairly described it. It had a rather gelatinous texture. I was not impressed to say the least. Over the years, I have had other fruits from time to time.....again nothing to write home about. I now understand that they have changed the name to the more positive name of Rollinia deliciosa and they prefer to use the Brazilian common name of Biriba. Anyway, about 2 or 3 years ago, I went to one of our fruit tastings and two guests, whom I never met before, brought Rollinias from their yard. Well.....one was pretty darned good and the other was even better. The best one tasted to me like a very rich and creamy lemon yogurt. Just the right balance of sweet and tart. I have since planted two seedling trees out. One died in a flood and the other is growing nicely and I am expecting fruit this year. I'll let you know how this one turns out. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Harry

Hey Harry,

If you could figure out the exact species of the one you will be receiving fruit from, that would be awesome! I would like to try to find seeds for them myself, but I need to know the right "Genus species."

SenileFelineS

Senilefelines,
I am glad to see you getting more drwan in to the tropical fruits. I think you should search here for pictures of this fruit. From what I have seen it is quite large. I know that Ch3rri grows the sugar apples and atemoyas and she said that one of the big problems with these fruits is that the branches are brittle and the fruit can be heavy enough to snap the branches. You see in tropical areas these trees grow outdoors with winds and tropical storm fronts which stregthen the framework of the tree. When the trees fruit, the branches are sturdy enough to support the fruit. Some growers have said that the branches snap from the fruit being heavy and they grow outdoors. I am just not sure if you could grow this fruit indoors. Ohiojay grows sugar apples indoors and I am sure he can tell you about how this tree has problems with brittle branches when it is grown indoors part of the year. I am not saying that you couldn't try it but you should also find out how large Harry's seedling is before considering getting seeds and trying to grow it. What tropicals are you growing?
Andrew

Andrew,

Currently, the only tropical plants I have are a mangrove seedpod I am trying to germinate through soaking in water and two coconuts I picked from palm trees in Florida which I am also soaking in water. Same goes for an olive seed. I am planning on growing limes from seed, oranges of many varieties, perhaps apples, and a pineapple. I did manage to sprout a 5 month or so old avocado tree, but unfortunately some freak accident occurred where the stem some how got chopped off.

In the non-tropical area, I am waiting on a saguaro cactus to germinate, as well as giant sequoia seeds to germinate. I had a banana sucker at one point I received from a friend, but it died of a mold infection.

Right now I just want to try new things, to hone my experience in the area, while learning about tropical fruiting plants ;)

SenileFelineS

Oh and, eating tasty fruits :D

Senile,
The wanting to try tropical fruit is why most of us are here. I used to live in Phoenix, AZ and the giant Saguaro is something that doesn't bloom till very old. I know the cactus doesn't bloom until after growing at least one arm, ehich they say takes up to 100 years. Even if you don't get blooms you are protecting an endangered species which is very important. Avocado is very easy to start but not a gurantee either if you are looking for fruit. I also know that bananas are tricky when it comes to the root. That is the best way to get one started but you have to be CAREFULL, about rootrot the firt few months. I always watered extremely carefull for that reason. I am thinking about getting another but they take up a considerable amount of space for the indoor gardener and they have to get so big before they will bloom. I would look into dwarf varieties if I were you. You can also buy small lime trees for next to nothing too. Have you tried looking for a grafted one? Another case of better finding a grafted tree so you don't have too wait 5 years to get fruit. Good luck with your hobby.
Andrew

Thanks ;)

Biriba is absolutely delicious! I think there are two variations - a large one that is really delicious (but produces scant crops) and a smaller one that is more productive but not quite as good tasting.

Jeff

there are definitely distinct varieties of Rollinia, biriba.

rayandgwenn do the leaves on the two specimens you have look identical? I was told by a rare fruit member the leaves on my Rollinia from top Trop has smaller leaves than that of Noels giant, I hope to eventually graft both.

there is small new growth on my Rollinia currently, its deciduous like soursop. when the leaves become full sized i will take a picture to scale.

Mango Kush- It is a bit hard to tell (since one is dormant), but of the leaves that are left, it does seem to have larger leaves than the other one (which still has almost all its leaves and it gave me its last fruit about 1 month ago).

I really like the taste of the fruit, so I am happy with them. i hope the other one produces fruit this summer, and it would be great if they were larger.

I bought some rollinia seeds from tradewinds years ago. Winter winds beat them to death. But 3 - 4 years from seed to crop? Time to try again then....

I just got two biriba seedling and they are inside my new plastic greenhouse (I got a cheap temporary greenhouse). The leaves of both of them are the same size. I heard that there is a variety called humongous. I am looking for that variety. Anyone knows where I can find it? Thank you!

'Humungous' is a hybrid bred by Har Mahdeem. You'd need to graft it.

Jeff

Jeff,
Thank you! How do I get a hold of some budwood? I am in Fort Myers, Florida. How can I locate Har Mahdeem?
I appreciate your help!

R.I.P Rollinia , its back to Annona now .
Very short lived name change .

I planted a small graftling last June. It grew nicely then went dormant for the winter. It has grown over 2ft in just the first month and a half of Spring. This tree is growing super fast! I hope to get flowers soon.