Botany

The generic name is based on Greek words for gold and leaf and refers to the leaves of some species that are often covered with golden hairs underneath. When the fruit is cut transversely, these cut segments present a starlike appearance, giving the tree the common name of star apple. The star apple is an exotic fruit with a tough, inedible skin that ranges in color from green to purple, depending on the stage of ripeness. The tree of this genus is erect, 25 to 100 ft. in length, with a short trunk to 3 ft. in diameter, having a dense, broad crown of brownhairy branchlets.