Annona Squamosa

General Information | Anona Squamosa | Star Fruit | Passion Fruit

The most widely grown of all the species of Annona, the sugar apple, A. squamosa L., has acquired various regional names: anon (Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama); anon de azucar, anon domestico, hanon, mocuyo (Colombia); anona blanca (Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic); anona de castilla (El Salvador); anona de Guatemala (Nicaragua); applebush (Grenadines); ata, fruta do conde, fruta de condessa, frutiera deconde, pinha, araticutitaia, or ati (Brazil); ates or atis (Philippines); atte (Gabon); chirimoya (Guatemala, Ecuador); cachiman (Argentina); cachiman cannelle (Haiti); kaneelappel (Surinam); pomme cannelle (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, French West Africa); rinon (Venezuela); saramulla, saramuya, ahate (Mexico); scopappel (Netherlands Antilles); sweetsop (Jamaica, Bahamas); ata, luna, meba, sharifa, sarifa, sitaphal, sita pandu, custard apple, scaly custard apple (India); bnah nona, nona, seri kaya (Malaya) manonah, noinah, pomme cannelle du Cap (Thailand); qu a na (Vietnam); mang cau ta (Cambodia); mak khbieb (Laos); fan-li-chi (China).

Description

The sugar apple tree ranges from 10 to 20 ft (3-6 m) in height with open crown of irregular branches, and some-what zigzag twigs. Deciduous leaves, alternately arranged on short, hairy petioles, are lanceolate or oblong, blunt tipped, 2 to 6 in (5-15 cm) long and 3/4 to 2 in (2-5 cm) wide; dull-green on the upperside, pale, with a bloom, below; slightly hairy when young; aromatic when crushed. Along the branch tips, opposite the leaves, the fragrant flowers are borne singly or in groups of 2 to 4. They are oblong, 1 to 1 1/2 in (2.5-3.8 cm) long, never fully open; with 1 in (2.5 cm) long, drooping stalks, and 3 fleshy outer petals, yellow-green on the outside and pale-yellow inside with a purple or dark-red spot at the base. The 3 inner petals are merely tiny scales. The compound fruit is nearly round, ovoid, or conical; 2 1/3 to 4 in (6-10 cm) long; its thick rind composed of knobby segments, pale-green, gray-green, bluish-green, or, in one form, dull, deep-pink externally (nearly always with a bloom); separating when the fruit is ripe and revealing the mass of conically segmented, creamy-white, glistening, delightfully fragrant, juicy, sweet, delicious flesh. Many of the segments enclose a single oblong-cylindric, black or dark-brown seed about 1/2 in (1.25 cm) long. There may be a total of 20 to 38, or perhaps more, seeds in the average fruit. Some trees, however, bear seedless fruits.

 

The original home of the sugar apple is unknown. It is commonly cultivated in tropical South America, not often in Central America, very frequently in southern Mexico, the West Indies, Bahamas and Bermuda, and occasionally in southern Florida. In Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Barbados, and in dry regions of North Queensland, Australia, it has escaped from cultivation and is found wild in pastures, forests and along roadsides.

The Spaniards probably carried seeds from the New World to the Philippines and the Portuguese are assumed to have introduced the sugar apple to southern India before 1590. It was growing in Indonesia early in the 17 th century and has been widely adopted in southern China, Queensland, Australia, Polynesia, Hawaii, tropical Africa, Egypt and the lowlands of Palestine. Cultivation is most extensive in India where the tree is also very common as an escape and the fruit exceedingly popular and abundant in markets. The sugar apple is one of the most important fruits in the interior of Brazil and is conspicuous in the markets of Bahia.

Climate

The sugar apple tree requires a tropical or near-tropical climate. It does not succeed in California because of the cool winters though in Israel it has survived several degrees below freezing. Generally, it does best in dry areas and it has high drought tolerance. However, in Ceylon it flourishes in the wet as well as the dry zones from sea level to 3,500 ft (1,066 m) elevation. During the blooming season, drought interferes with pollination and it is, therefore, concluded that the sugar apple should have high atmospheric humidity but no rain when flowering. In severe droughts, the tree sheds its leaves and the fruit rind hardens and will split with the advent of rain.

Culture

In Egypt, sugar apple trees are spaced at 10 x 10 ft (3x3 m) in order to elevate atmospheric humidity and improve pollination. Palestinian growers were spacing at 16 x 16 ft (5x5 m) but changed to 16 x 10 ft (5x3 m) as more feasible. On light soils, they apply 132 to 176 lbs (60-80 kg) manure per tree annually and they recommend the addition of nitrogen. Commercial fertilizer containing 3% N, 10 % P and 10% K significantly increases flowering, fruit set and yield. Judicious pruning to improve shape and strength of tree must be done only in spring when the sap is rising, otherwise pruning may kill the tree. Irrigation during the dry season and once during ripening will increase fruit size.

Food Uses

The ripe sugar apple is usually broken open and the flesh segments enjoyed while the hard seeds are separated in the mouth and spat out. It is so luscious that it is well worth the trouble. In Malaya, the flesh is pressed through a sieve to eliminate the seeds and is then added to ice cream or blended with milk to make a cool beverage. It is never cooked.

Medicinal Uses: In India the crushed leaves are sniffed to overcome hysteria and fainting spells; they are also applied on ulcers and wounds and a leaf decoction is taken in cases of dysentery. Throughout tropical America, a decoction of the leaves alone or with those of other plants is imbibed either as an emmenagogue, febrifuge, tonic, cold remedy, digestive, or to clarify the urine. The leaf decoction is also employed in baths to alleviate rheumatic pain. The green fruit, very astringent, is employed against diarrhea in El Salvador. In India, the crushed ripe fruit, mixed with salt, is applied on tumors. The bark and roots are both highly astringent. The bark decoction is given as a tonic and to halt diarrhea. The root, because of its strong purgative action, is administered as a drastic treatment for dysentery and other ailments.