Annona squamosa | |
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Cross section of the fruit shown on right | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Magnoliids |
Order: | Magnoliales |
Family: | Annonaceae |
Genus: | Annona |
Species: | A. squamosa |
Binomial name | |
Annona squamosa | |
Synonyms | |
Annona asiaticaL. [3] Contents |
Annona squamosa is a small, well-branched tree or shrub [7] from the family Annonaceae that bears edible fruits called sugar apples or sweetsops. [8] It tolerates a tropical lowland climate better than its relatives Annona reticulata and Annona cherimola [6] (whose fruits often share the same name) [3] helping make it the most widely cultivated of these species. [9] Annona squamosa is a small, semi-(or late) deciduous, [10] much-branched shrub or small tree 3 to 8 metres (10 to 26 feet) tall [7] [10] similar to soursop ( Annona muricata ). [11] It is native of tropical climate in the Americas and West Indies, and Spanish traders aboard the Manila galleons docking in the Philippines brought it to Asia. [12]
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. [12] [13] The seeds can be ground for use as an insecticide. [8] 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.
The fruit of A. squamosa (sugar-apple) has sweet whitish pulp, and is popular in tropical markets. [10] In bengal it is called Ata phal.
Branches with light brown bark and visible leaf scars; inner bark light yellow and slightly bitter; twigs become brown with light brown dots (lenticels – small, oval, rounded spots upon the stem or branch of a plant, from which the underlying tissues may protrude or roots may issue). [6]
Thin, simple, alternate leaves [11] occur singly, [6] 5 to 17 centimetres (2 to 6+3⁄4 inches) long and 2 to 6 cm (3⁄4 to 2+3⁄8 in) wide; [10] [6] rounded at the base and pointed at the tip (oblong-lanceolate). [10] They are pale green on both surfaces and mostly hairless [6] with slight hairs on the underside when young. [7] The sides sometimes are slightly unequal and the leaf edges are without teeth, inconspicuously hairy when young. [6] [11]
The leaf stalks are 0.4 to 2.2 cm (1⁄8 to 7⁄8 in) long, [10] green, and sparsely pubescent. [6]
Solitary or in short lateral clusters of 2–4 about 2.5 cm (1 in) long, [10] greenish-yellow flowers on a hairy, slender [6] 2 cm (3⁄4 in) long stalk. [10] Three green outer petals, purplish at the base, oblong, 1.6 to 2.5 cm (5⁄8 to 1 in) long, and 0.6 to 0.75 cm (1⁄4 to 5⁄16 in) wide, three inner petals reduced to minute scales or absent. [7] [10] Very numerous stamens; crowded, white, less than 1.6 cm (5⁄8 in) long; ovary light green. Styles white, crowded on the raised axis. Each pistil forms a separate tubercle (small rounded wartlike protuberance), mostly 1.3 to 1.9 cm (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in) long and 0.6 to 1.3 cm (1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in) wide which matures into the aggregate fruit. [6]
Flowering occurs in spring-early summer [10] and flowers are pollinated by nitidulid beetles. [14] Its pollen is shed as permanent tetrads. [15]
Fruits ripen 3 to 4 months after flowering. [16]
Aggregate and soft fruits form from the numerous and loosely united pistils of a flower [6] which become enlarged [10] and mature into fruits which are distinct from fruits of other species of genus [6] (and more like a giant raspberry instead).
The round or heart-shaped [6] greenish yellow, ripened aggregate fruit is pendulous [10] on a thickened stalk; 5 to 10 cm (2 to 3+7⁄8 in) [6] [7] in diameter [10] [11] with many round protuberances [6] and covered with a powdery bloom. Fruits are formed of loosely cohering or almost free carpels (the ripened pistels). [7]
The pulp is white tinged yellow, [7] edible and sweetly aromatic. Each carpel containing an oblong, shiny and smooth, [6] dark brown [7] to black, 1.3 to 1.6 cm (1⁄2 to 5⁄8 in) long seed. [6]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Energy | 393 kJ (94 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23.64 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dietary fiber | 4.4 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0.29 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2.06 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [17] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [18] |
Sugar-apple is high in energy, an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese, a good source of thiamine and vitamin B6, and provides vitamin B2, B3 B5, B9, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium in fair quantities. [19]
The diterpenoid alkaloid atisine is the most abundant alkaloid in the root. Other constituents of Annona squamosa include the alkaloids oxophoebine, [20] reticuline, [20] isocorydine, [21] and methylcorydaldine, [21] and the flavonoid quercetin-3-O-glucoside. [22]
Bayer AG has patented the extraction process and molecular identity of the annonaceous acetogenin annonin, as well as its use as a biopesticide. [23] Other acetogenins have been isolated from the seeds, [24] bark, [25] and leaves.[ citation needed ]
Annona squamosa is native to the tropical Americas and West Indies, but the exact origin is unknown. It is now the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona , being grown for its fruit throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics, such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and China as far north as Suzhou; [26] it was introduced to southern Asia before 1590. It is naturalized as far north as southern Florida in the United States and as far south as Bahia in Brazil, and is an invasive species in some areas. [6] [9] [11]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(February 2021) |
Like most species of Annona, it requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from 25 °C (77 °F) to 41 °C (106 °F), and mean winter temperatures above 15 °C (59 °F). It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below 10 °C (50 °F) and killed by temperatures of a couple of degrees below freezing. It is only moderately drought-tolerant, requiring at least 700 millimetres (28 in) of annual rainfall, and does not produce fruit well during droughts.
It will grow from sea level to an altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) and thrives in hot dry climates, differing in its tolerance of lowland tropics from many of the other fruit bearers in the Annona family.
It is quite a prolific bearer, and it produces fruit within as little as two to three years. A five-year-old tree can 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 fibre brush is effective in increasing yield. Natural pollinators include beetles (coleoptera) of the families Nitidulidae, Staphylinidae, Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae and Scarabaeidae. [9] [13]
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.
It is a host plant for larvae of the butterfly Graphium agamemnon (tailed jay).
In traditional Indian, Thai, and Native American medicines, the leaves are boiled down with water, possibly mixed with other specific botanicals, and used in a decoction to treat dysentery and urinary tract infection. [27] In traditional Indian medicine, the leaves are also crushed for use as a poultice, and applied to wounds. [27] In Mexico, the leaves are rubbed on floors and put in hens' nests, to repel lice. [9] In Haiti, the fruit is known as cachiman and is used to simply make juice. [28]
Asimina is a genus of small trees or shrubs described as a genus in 1763. Asimina is the only temperate genus in the tropical and subtropical flowering plant family Annonaceae. Asimina have large, simple leaves and large fruit. It is native to eastern North America and collectively referred to as pawpaw. The genus includes the widespread common pawpaw Asimina triloba, which bears the largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States. Pawpaws are native to 26 states of the U.S. and to Ontario in Canada. The common pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat. Pawpaws are in the same plant family (Annonaceae) as the custard apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, soursop, and ylang-ylang; the genus is the only member of that family not confined to the tropics. Fossils date to the Cretaceous.
The papaya, papaw, or pawpaw is the plant species Carica papaya, one of the 21 accepted species in the genus Carica of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and Central America. It is grown in several countries in regions with a tropical climate. In 2022, India produced 38% of the world's supply of papayas.
Guava is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava Psidium guajava is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The name guava is also given to some other species in the genus Psidium such as strawberry guava and to the pineapple guava, Feijoa sellowiana. In 2019, 55 million tonnes of guavas were produced worldwide, led by India with 45% of the total. Botanically, guavas are berries.
Jujube, sometimes jujuba, scientific name Ziziphus jujuba, and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Indian jujube, Z. mauritiana. The Chinese jujube enjoys a diverse range of climates from temperate to tropical, whereas the Indian jujube is restricted to warmer subtropical and tropical climates.
The jackfruit is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as 55 kg in weight, 90 cm in length, and 50 cm (20 in) in diameter. A mature jackfruit tree produces some 200 fruits per year, with older trees bearing up to 500 fruits in a year. The jackfruit is a multiple fruit composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and the fleshy petals of the unripe fruit are eaten.
Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is widely propagated. It is in the same genus, Annona, as cherimoya and is in the Annonaceae family.
Syzygium samarangense is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to an area that includes the Greater Sunda Islands, Malay Peninsula, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but introduced in prehistoric times to a wider area and now widely cultivated in the tropics. Common names in English include wax apple, Java apple, Semarang rose-apple, and wax jambu.
The cherimoya, also spelled chirimoya and called chirimuya by the Quechua people, is a species of edible fruit-bearing plant in the genus Annona, from the family Annonaceae, which includes the closely related sweetsop and soursop. The plant has long been believed to be native to Ecuador and Peru, with cultivation practised in the Andes and Central America, although a recent hypothesis postulates Central America as the origin instead, because many of the plant's wild relatives occur in this area.
Annona or Anona 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 166 species of mostly Neotropical and Afrotropical trees and shrubs.
Custard apple is a common name for several fruits and may refer to Annonaceae, the custard apple family, which includes the following species referred to as custard apples:
Mammea americana, commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mamey, mamey apple, Santo Domingo apricot, tropical apricot, or South American apricot, is an evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, whose fruit is edible. It has also been classified as belonging to the family Guttiferae Juss. (1789), which would make it a relative of the mangosteen.
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 common name shared with fruits of several other species in the same genus: A. cherimola and A. squamosa. Other English common names include ox heart and bullock's heart. The fruit is sweet and useful in preparation of desserts, but is generally less popular for eating than that of A. cherimola.
Annona glabra is a tropical fruit tree in the family Annonaceae, in the same genus as the soursop and cherimoya. Common names include pond apple, alligator apple, swamp apple, corkwood, bobwood, and monkey apple. The tree is native to Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and West Africa. It is common in the Everglades. The A. glabra tree is considered an invasive species in Sri Lanka and Australia. It grows in swamps, is tolerant of saltwater, and cannot grow in dry soil.
Asimina triloba, the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit. Asimina is the only temperate genus in the tropical and subtropical flowering plant family Annonaceae, and Asimina triloba has the most northern range of all. Well-known tropical fruits of different genera in family Annonaceae include the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang, and soursop.
Syzygium jambos is a species of rose apple originating in Southeast Asia and occurring widely elsewhere, having been introduced as an ornamental and fruit tree.
Annonacin is a chemical compound with toxic effects, especially in the nervous system, found in some fruits such as the paw paw, custard apples, soursop, and others from the family Annonaceae. It is a member of the class of compounds known as acetogenins. Annonacin-containing fruit products are regularly consumed throughout the West Indies for their traditional medicine uses.
Annona mucosa is a species of flowering plant in the custard-apple family, Annonaceae, that is native to tropical South America. It is cultivated for its edible fruits, commonly known as biribá, lemon meringue pie fruit, or wild sugar-apple, throughout the world's tropics and subtropics.
Annona senegalensis, commonly known as African custard-apple, wild custard apple, wild soursop, abo ibobo, sunkungo, and dorgot is a species of flowering plant in the custard apple family, Annonaceae. The specific epithet, senegalensis, translates to mean "of Senegal", the country where the type specimen was collected.
The atemoya, Annona × atemoya, or Annona squamosa × Annona cherimola 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" (鳳梨釋迦), so it is sometimes wrongly believed to be a cross between the sugar-apple and the pineapple. In Cuba it is known as anón, and in Venezuela chirimorinon. In Lebanon, the fruit is called achta. In Tanzania it is called stafeli dogo. In Brazil, the atemoya became popular and in 2011, around 1,200 hectares of atemoya were cultivated in Brazil. In Taiwan, the cultivating area of atemoya was 2,856.46 hectares in 2020, and Taitung County was the major place of cultivating.
Annona macroprophyllata is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. John Donnell Smith, the American botanist who first formally described the species, named it after its large leaves.
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