Annona squamosa

Annona squamosa is a small, well-branched tree or shrub from the family Annonaceae that bears edible fruits called sugar apples or sweetsops or custard apples. It tolerates a tropical lowland climate better than its relatives Annona reticulata and Annona cherimola (whose fruits often share the same name) helping make it the most widely cultivated of these species. Annona squamosa is semi-(or late) deciduous, and 3 to 8 metres (10 to 26 feet) tall, similar to soursop (Annona muricata). It is a native of tropical climate in the Americas, and Spanish traders aboard the Manila galleons docking in the Philippines brought it to Asia. The fruit is spherical-conical, 5–10 centimetres (2–4 inches) in diameter and 6–10 cm (2+1⁄4–4 in) long, and weighing 100–240 grams (3.5–8.5 ounces), with a thick rind composed of knobby segments. The colour is typically pale green through blue-green, with a deep pink blush in certain varieties, and typically has a bloom. It is unique among Annona fruits in being segmented; the segments tend to separate when ripe, exposing the innards. The flesh is fragrant and sweet, creamy white through light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The seeds are coated with the flesh, It is found adhering to 13-to-16-millimetre-long (1⁄2 to 5⁄8 in) seeds forming individual segments arranged in a single layer around a conical core. It is soft, slightly grainy, and slippery. The hard, shiny seeds may number 20–40 or more per fruit and have a brown to black coat, although varieties exist that are almost seedless. The seeds can be ground for use as an insecticide, although this has not been approved by the US EPA or EU authorities. The stems run through the centre of the fruit connecting it to the outside. The skin is shaped like a Reuleaux triangle coloured green and rough in texture. Due to the soft flesh and structure of the sugar apple it is very fragile to pressure when ripe. New varieties are also being developed in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The atemoya or "pineapple sugar-apple", a hybrid between the sugar-apple and the cherimoya, is popular in Taiwan, although it was first developed in the United States in 1908. The fruit is similar in sweetness to the sugar-apple, but has a very different taste. As its name suggests, it tastes like pineapple.

Description

A bushy deciduous tree up to 6 m high. It has irregular spreading branches. The leaves are oblong and narrow, often 12 cm long by 4 cm wide. The leaves have fine hairs underneath. The leaves are dull green and smell when crushed. The flowers droop or hang from branches either singly or in groups of 2 or 3. The flowers are greenish colour. The fruit are 8-10 cm across and greenish in colour. The fruit is covered with round fleshy scales which drop off as the fruit ripens. Inside the fruit are several shiny black seeds about 1.5 cm long. The fruit flesh is white and soft.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit Edible Uses: Fruit - raw. The sweet and creamy fruits are highly regarded as a dessert fruit. They can also be used to make sherbet, ice cream, jellies etc. The fruit is up to 10cm in diameter.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten raw. It is also used in ice cream. The juice is used for drinks. CAUTION: The seeds, leaves and roots are poisonous. Both an alkaloid, and hydrocyanic acid have been shown to occur in these parts of the plant.

Medicinal Uses

Antidiarrhoeal Antirheumatic Astringent Cancer Dysentery Purgative Sedative Vermifuge Leaves, shoots, bark and roots have been reported to have medicinal properties. They are all strongly astringent and are used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. The green fruits, seeds and leaves have effective vermicidal properties. The young shoots, combined with peppermint, are used in the West Indies to relieve colds and chills. In Cuba, the leaves are taken to lower uric acid levels in the blood. The unripe fruit is astringent. The root is a drastic purgative. The bark and leaves, combined with those of Annona muricata, are used in a sedative infusion. An infusion of the leaves and fruit is used to aid digestion and treat rheumatism. An oil distilled from the leaves is applied to the head for treating sleeplessness. The powdered seeds are an excellent vermifuge. Extracts of the plant have shown anticancer activity.

Known Hazards

The seeds, leaves and roots are poisonous. Both an alkaloid, and hydrocyanic acid have been shown to occur in these parts of the plant.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It suits lowland drier climates. It grows naturally in the dry hills around Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. The trees will probably grow satisfactorily up to about 1000 metres altitude in equatorial zones. In Colombia it grows between 340-1,300 m above sea level. Sweetsops cannot stand frost but they are able to survive droughts better than many fruit trees. Trees do not like waterlogged soils. Sweetsops can grow on fairly poor, dry, stony soils. In Bolivia they grow in areas with rainfall or 500-1,000 mm per year. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Where It Grows

Africa, Amazon, Andaman Is., Antigua and Barbuda, Antilles, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central Africam Republic, CAR, Central America, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Leeward Is., Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico*, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, Northeastern India, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rotuma, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen,

Cultivation

They are normally grown from seeds and the seeds retain their viability for several years. It is better to grow sweetsops from fresh seeds and it is best to soak seeds for 3 days before sowing. Seeds germinate and start to grow 50 to 70 days after planting. The fruit is borne on old and new wood. As the fruit is more commonly on new wood, pruning is an advantage. Trees can be budded or grafted. A small branch of a selected variety is grafted onto another seedling sweetsop. Plants are very hard to get to grow from cuttings. A spacing of 6 m apart is suitable for sweetsop trees. The fruit is eaten raw. The sweet soft fleshy layer around the seeds can be eaten raw. When the fruit is ripe it is easy to separate the different soft fleshy parts of the fruit. Often it is easiest and best to harvest the fruit when they are nearly ripe and then let them ripen in a warm place.

Propagation

Seed - usually breeds true to type. Sow in individual pots, not deeper than 2cm, at 21c. They germinate within 2 - 4 weeks, and the seedlings are ready for planting out after 6 months. The seed of many species in this genus has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Semi-ripe cuttings. Budding is done at the beginning of the growing season when the sap flows freely. Cleft-grafting is the method more commonly used. Air-layering

Other Uses

Fuel Insecticide String Other uses rating: Low (2/5). Other Uses Green fruits, seeds and leaves have effective vermicidal and insecticidal properties. The seeds contain the insecticide acetogin. The fibrous bark has sometimes been used locally for cordage. The light yellow sapwood and brownish heartwood are soft, light in weight and weak. The tree is a good source of firewood. Special Uses Food Forest

Production

The tree is slow growing. Trees can start to produce fruit 2 years after they are planted. A tree can produce 100 fruit. Fruit are often 200-300 g each. The pulp is 20% sugar.

Other Information

It is a cultivated fruit tree. It is popular. It is fairly common in coastal areas of Papua New Guinea especially near Port Moresby

Notes

There are about 100-150 Annona species. Chemicals in the seeds are being investigated as medicine. They have anticancer properties. The bark has chemicals against prostrate cancers.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Aanusari, Ai piol, Anon morado, Anona, Anona montes, Anuune, Apeli, 'atis, Ata, Atafol, Ates, Atis, Atta, Attier, Awzar, Buah nona, Chhitaphal, Chirimoya crespa, Dawatsip, Dhivehi atha, Fat manaova, Fruta-do-conde, Gam ja, Juructira, Kaneelappel, Khieb, Kok khiap, Konikony, Lanang, Makhiap, Man cau ta, Moumou, Mphosa, Mstafeli, Mufa, Na, Nameana Noi-nah, Noina, Nona sri kaya, Pinha, Pomme cannelle, Ram phal, Rinon, Saramuyo, Sarifa, Sarikaja, Seetaphal, Seethapazham, Shareefa, Sharifa, Sini-atta, Sirkaja, Sitafal, Sitaphal, Sita-phalo, Sitapalam, Sitappalm, Sittapan, Sri kaya, Sugar apple, Tiep baay, Tiep srok

References (158)

• Sweetsop references Annona squamosa
• Book Review: Classification of the Genus Annona with Descriptions of New and Imperfectly Known Species. 1988
• Alexander, D.M., Scholefield, P.B., Frodsham, A., 1982, Some tree fruits for tropical Australia. CSIRO, Australia. p 47
• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 42
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 202

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