Sugar-apple
Encyclopedia
Annona squamosa is a species of Annona
native to the tropical Americas and widely grown in Colombia
, El Salvador
, India
, Pakistan
and the Philippines
. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation, but thought to be in the Caribbean
; the species was described from Jamaica
.
It is a semi-evergreen
shrub
or small tree
reaching 6–8 m (19.7–26.2 ft) tall. The leaves
are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 5–17 cm (2–6.7 in) long and 2–5 cm (0.78740157480315–2 in) broad. The flower
s are produced in clusters of 3-4, each flower 1.5–3 cm (0.590551181102362–1.2 in) across, with three large petals and three minute ones, yellow-green spotted purple at the base.
The fruit
is usually round, slightly pine cone-like, 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) diameter and weighing 100–230 g (3.5–8.1 oz), with a scaly or lumpy skin. There are variations in shape and size. The fruit flesh is sweet, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard
. The edible portion coats the seeds generously; a bit like the gooey portion of a tomato seed. Sugar-apple has a very distinct, sweet-smelling fragrance. The texture of the flesh that coats the seeds is a bit like the center of a very ripe guava
(excluding the seeds). It is slightly grainy, a bit slippery, very sweet and very soft. The seed
s are scattered through the fruit flesh; the seed coats are blackish-brown, 12–18 mm (0.47244094488189–0.708661417322835 in) long, and hard and shiny.
There are also new varieties being developed in Taiwan
. There is a pineapple sugar-apple, which is similar in sweetness but has a very different taste. Like the name suggests, it tastes like pineapple. The arrangement of seeds is in spaced rows, with the fruit's flesh filling most of the fruit and making grooves for the seeds, instead of the flesh only occurring around the seeds.
Diterpenoid alkaloid atisine is the main component of the root. Others include atidine, histisine, hetisine, hetidine, heterophyllisine, heterophylline, heterlophylline, isoatisine, dihydroatisine, and hetisinone benzoyl heteratisine and citronella oil.
, another closely related species). In Latin America
, regional names include anón, anón de azucar, anona blanca, fruta do conde, cachiman, saramuyo, grenadilla (little grenade) and many others. In India
it is known as ata, aarticum, shareefa, sitaphal, seethaphal or seetha pazham (सीता फळ சீதாப்பழம் literally meaning "sita
fruit" as the fruit has too many seeds and monkeys will not eat them , and in Indonesia, srimatikiya or mostly people call it srikaya. The Taiwan
ese call it sakya because one cultivar resembles the top part of Sakyamuni's (釋迦牟尼) head. Its name in Burmese
is aajaa thee. In Indonesia
, it is called srikaya. In the Philippines
, it is called atis. In Thailand
, it is called noi-na (น้อยหน่า) which is also the common name for a hand grenade because of its appearance. In Vietnam
, it is called mãng cầu ta or na. In Brazil
, it is called fruta do conde, fruta-pinha, pinha, araticum or ata. In the Middle East region, it is called قشطة (qishta / ishta / ashta), the English translation being "custard". In Kerala
, it is called aathachakka. In Hong Kong, it is called "foreign lychee" (番鬼荔枝). In Mali, Africa, it is called hairico.
and is a good source of iron
. It is the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown widely throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics, such as Indonesia
, Thailand
, and Taiwan
; it was introduced to southern Asia
before 1590. It is naturalized
north to southern Florida
in the United States
and south to Bahia
in Brazil
, and is an invasive species
in some areas.
Like most species of Annona, it requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from 25 °C (77 °F) to 41 °C (105.8 °F), and mean winter temperatures above 15 °C (59 °F). It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below 10 °C and killed by temperatures of a couple of degrees below freezing. It is only moderately drought-tolerant, requiring rainfall above 700 mm, and will not produce fruit well during droughts.
It is quite a prolific bearer, and it will produce fruit in as little as two to three years. A tree five years old may produce as many as 50 sugar apples. Poor fruit production has been reported in Florida because there are few natural pollinators (honeybees have a difficult time penetrating the tightly closed female flowers); however, hand pollination with a natural fiber brush is effective in increasing yield. Natural pollinators include beetles (coleoptera) of the families Nitidulidae, Staphylinidae, Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae
and Scarabeidae.
In the Philippines
, the fruit is commonly eaten by the Philippine fruit bat
(kabag or kabog), which then spreads the seeds from island to island. A Filipino company produces sugar apple wine.
It is a host plant for larvae of the butterfly Graphium agamemnon
(tailed jay).
It is used by some societies in India
to prepare a hair tonic. The seeds are also ground and applied to hair to get rid of lice; however, it must be kept away from the eyes as it is highly irritant and can cause blindness. Heat-extracted oil from the seeds has been employed against agricultural pests. Studies have shown the ether extract of the seeds to have no residual toxicity after 2 days. High concentrations are potent for 2 days and weaken steadily, all activity being lost after 8 days. In Mexico, the leaves are rubbed on floors and put in hen's nests to repel lice.
Annona
Annona is a genus of flowering plants in the pawpaw/sugar apple family, Annonaceae. It is the second largest genus in the family after Guatteria, containing approximately 110 species of mostly neotropical and afrotropical trees and shrubs....
native to the tropical Americas and widely grown in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation, but thought to be in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
; the species was described from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
It is a semi-evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
or small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
reaching 6–8 m (19.7–26.2 ft) tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 5–17 cm (2–6.7 in) long and 2–5 cm (0.78740157480315–2 in) broad. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in clusters of 3-4, each flower 1.5–3 cm (0.590551181102362–1.2 in) across, with three large petals and three minute ones, yellow-green spotted purple at the base.
The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is usually round, slightly pine cone-like, 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) diameter and weighing 100–230 g (3.5–8.1 oz), with a scaly or lumpy skin. There are variations in shape and size. The fruit flesh is sweet, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard
Custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce , to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as...
. The edible portion coats the seeds generously; a bit like the gooey portion of a tomato seed. Sugar-apple has a very distinct, sweet-smelling fragrance. The texture of the flesh that coats the seeds is a bit like the center of a very ripe guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
(excluding the seeds). It is slightly grainy, a bit slippery, very sweet and very soft. The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are scattered through the fruit flesh; the seed coats are blackish-brown, 12–18 mm (0.47244094488189–0.708661417322835 in) long, and hard and shiny.
There are also new varieties being developed in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. There is a pineapple sugar-apple, which is similar in sweetness but has a very different taste. Like the name suggests, it tastes like pineapple. The arrangement of seeds is in spaced rows, with the fruit's flesh filling most of the fruit and making grooves for the seeds, instead of the flesh only occurring around the seeds.
Diterpenoid alkaloid atisine is the main component of the root. Others include atidine, histisine, hetisine, hetidine, heterophyllisine, heterophylline, heterlophylline, isoatisine, dihydroatisine, and hetisinone benzoyl heteratisine and citronella oil.
Nomenclature
Sugar apple is a fruit of the tree Annona squamosa. It is sweet in taste due to higher fructose and reducing sugar content. Different cultures have many names for the species. In English, the fruit is most widely known as a sugar apple or sweetsop as well as a custard apple, especially in India and Australia (in the latter, a custard apple also refers to Annona reticulataAnnona reticulata
Annona reticulata is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the plant family Annonaceae.It is best known for its fruit, called custard-apple, a name it shares with fruits of other species from the same genus: A. cherimola and A. squamosa or sometimes it is called wild-sweetsop,...
, another closely related species). In Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, regional names include anón, anón de azucar, anona blanca, fruta do conde, cachiman, saramuyo, grenadilla (little grenade) and many others. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
it is known as ata, aarticum, shareefa, sitaphal, seethaphal or seetha pazham (सीता फळ சீதாப்பழம் literally meaning "sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
fruit" as the fruit has too many seeds and monkeys will not eat them , and in Indonesia, srimatikiya or mostly people call it srikaya. The Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese call it sakya because one cultivar resembles the top part of Sakyamuni's (釋迦牟尼) head. Its name in Burmese
Burmese language
The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
is aajaa thee. In Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, it is called srikaya. In the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, it is called atis. In Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, it is called noi-na (น้อยหน่า) which is also the common name for a hand grenade because of its appearance. In Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, it is called mãng cầu ta or na. In Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, it is called fruta do conde, fruta-pinha, pinha, araticum or ata. In the Middle East region, it is called قشطة (qishta / ishta / ashta), the English translation being "custard". In Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, it is called aathachakka. In Hong Kong, it is called "foreign lychee" (番鬼荔枝). In Mali, Africa, it is called hairico.
Cultivation and uses
Sugar-apple fruit is high in caloriesFood energy
Food energy is the amount of energy obtained from food that is available through cellular respiration.Food energy is expressed in food calories or kilojoules...
and is a good source of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. It is the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown widely throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics, such as Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
; it was introduced to southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
before 1590. It is naturalized
Naturalisation (biology)
In biology, naturalisation is any process by which a non-native organism spreads into the wild and its reproduction is sufficient to maintain its population. Such populations are said to be naturalised....
north to southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and south to Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and is an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in some areas.
Like most species of Annona, it requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from 25 °C (77 °F) to 41 °C (105.8 °F), and mean winter temperatures above 15 °C (59 °F). It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below 10 °C and killed by temperatures of a couple of degrees below freezing. It is only moderately drought-tolerant, requiring rainfall above 700 mm, and will not produce fruit well during droughts.
It is quite a prolific bearer, and it will produce fruit in as little as two to three years. A tree five years old may produce as many as 50 sugar apples. Poor fruit production has been reported in Florida because there are few natural pollinators (honeybees have a difficult time penetrating the tightly closed female flowers); however, hand pollination with a natural fiber brush is effective in increasing yield. Natural pollinators include beetles (coleoptera) of the families Nitidulidae, Staphylinidae, Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae
Curculionidae
Curculionidae is the family of the "true" weevils . It was formerly recognized in 1998 as the largest of any animal family, with over 40,000 species described worldwide at that time...
and Scarabeidae.
In the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the fruit is commonly eaten by the Philippine fruit bat
Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat
The Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat is a species of megabat within the Pteropodidae family. It is a small bat that lives in South and Southeast Asia and Indonesia which weighs between that occurs in most habitats including lower montane forest, tropical lowland rainforest, gardens, mangroves, and...
(kabag or kabog), which then spreads the seeds from island to island. A Filipino company produces sugar apple wine.
It is a host plant for larvae of the butterfly Graphium agamemnon
Graphium agamemnon
The Tailed Jay is a predominantly green and black tropical butterfly that belongs to the swallowtail family. The butterfly is also called Green-spotted Triangle, Tailed Green Jay, or the Green Triangle. It is a common, nonthreatened species native to India, Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia and...
(tailed jay).
It is used by some societies in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to prepare a hair tonic. The seeds are also ground and applied to hair to get rid of lice; however, it must be kept away from the eyes as it is highly irritant and can cause blindness. Heat-extracted oil from the seeds has been employed against agricultural pests. Studies have shown the ether extract of the seeds to have no residual toxicity after 2 days. High concentrations are potent for 2 days and weaken steadily, all activity being lost after 8 days. In Mexico, the leaves are rubbed on floors and put in hen's nests to repel lice.
See also
- AnnoninAnnoninAnnonin is an active ingredient present in extracts of seed kernels of the Annona seed used as an insecticide for Helicoverpa and other caterpillar pests....
- AtemoyaAtemoyaThe atemoya, Annona × atemoya, is a hybrid of two fruits – the sugar apple and the cherimoya – which are both native to the American tropics. This fruit is popular in Taiwan, where it is known as the "pineapple sugar apple" , and is sometimes mistaken for a cross between the sugar...
- CherimoyaCherimoyaThe Cherimoya is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola, which is native to the Andes. Today they are grown throughout South and Central America.-Description:...
- Custard-appleCustard-appleThe tree also grows in Egypt,but the fruit is quite greenish in color not brown or yellowish.The common name for the fruit in Egypt is "Kishta".The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the fruit of the tree Annona reticulata...
- SoursopSoursopThe Soursop is tripti broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, Colombia and Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Soursop is also native to sub-Saharan African countries that lie within the tropics. Today, it is also grown in some areas...