Xylopia sericea

Native from southeastern Nicaragua through tropical South America, this tree belongs to the custard apple family and can reach about 60 feet tall. Its narrow, leathery leaves spread or droop, with a fine gray silky covering beneath older leaves and bronze tones on young foliage. Pale flowers produce clusters of separate fruit segments that open to reveal seeds. It grows in lowland and mountain forests and along savanna margins. In Venezuela, it grows between about 330 and 3,900 feet, and its wood is used locally to make chairs and benches. Photographed in Colombia.