Custard Apple

Annona squamosa

Also known as Sugar apple, Sweet sop, Sweetsop-Anon, Araticum

TreeoutdoorMedicinal

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About Custard Apple

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.

Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Annona squamosa
Genus: Annona
Family: ANNONACEAE
Habit: Tree
Habitat: Dry deciduous and scrub forests
Native to: Central America, West Indies
Distribution: India, Central America
Flowering & fruiting: March-December
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Local Names

Hindi: Sharifa शरीफ़ा, Sitaphal सीताफल, शरीफा
Nepali: सरीफा
Bengali: আতা, শরিফা
Tamil: சீதாபழம் Sitapalam, சீதாப் பழம், சீதாப்பழம்
Telugu: చక్కెర సీతాఫలం, మంచి సీతాఫలం
Kannada: ಸೀತಾಫಲ Sita Phala, ಸೀತಾಫಲ
Malayalam: സീതപ്പഴം
Marathi: सीताफळ

Illustration representing the ANNONACEAE family

Botanical family

Annonaceae

Custard apple family

Custard Apple belongs to the Annonaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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