Sweetsop (Annona squamosa)

Sweetsop (Annona squamosa) is a plant species in the Annonaceae, a small tree or shrub, branched, 3-8 meters high, highly adaptive to soil type and elevation, producing edible fruit with sweet, whitish and watery flesh.

A. squamosa has light brown branches with leaf scars and a bright yellow interior. Twigs turn brown with light brown lenticels.



Leaves are thin, simple, alternate, 5-17 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, rounded base and tapered tip. Pale green on both surfaces. The leaf stalks are 0.4-2.2 cm long and green in color.

Flowers solitary or in short lateral clusters, 2.5 cm long, yellow-green on peduncles 2 cm long. The three outer petals are green, purplish at the base, oval, 1.6-2.5 cm long and 0.6-0.75 cm wide.

The stamens are numerous, white, less than 1.6 cm long and the ovaries are light green. Each pistil forms a separate tubercle, generally 1.3-1.9 cm long and 0.6-1.3 cm wide.

Soft fruit aggregates formed from many carpels, loose and almost free. grow and mature. The fruit is heart-shaped, yellow-green, 5-10 cm in diameter with many rounded protrusions and covered with flour.

The flesh is yellowish-white, edible and sweet-scented. Each carpel contains an oval seed, shiny and smooth, dark brown to black and 1.3-1.6 cm long.

Srikaya requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures of 25-41C, moderate drought tolerance, 700 millimeters (28 inches) of annual rainfall and will not produce well during droughts. It grows at elevations of 0-2000 meters and does well in hot dry climates.

The leaves are boiled to treat dysentery and urinary tract infections. The leaves are pounded as a poultice and rubbed on the wound. The leaves were rubbed on the floor and placed in the hens' nests to keep fleas away. The fruit is eaten fresh or processed into juice.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Annonaceae
Subfamily: Annonoideae
Tribe: Annoneae
Genus: Annona L. in Sp. Pl.: 537 (1753)
Species: Annona squamosa L. in Sp. Pl.: 537 (1753)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Guanabanus squamosus (L.) M.Gómez in Fl. Habanera: 114 (1897)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Annona asiatica L. in Sp. Pl.: 537 (1753)
Annona asiatica Vahl in Symb. Bot. 3: 73 (1794)
Annona cinerea Dunal in Monogr. Anonac.: 71 (1817)
Annona distincta Raeusch. in Nomencl. Bot. Pl. Illustr., ed. 3: 160 (1797)
Annona forskahlii DC. in Syst. Nat. 1: 472 (1817)
Annona glabra Forssk. in Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 102 (1775)
Annona squamosa Delile in Descr. Egypte, Hist. Nat. 2(Mém.): 17 (1812)
Annona squamosa f. parvifolia Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 3 (1898)
Xylopia frutescens Sieber ex C.Presl in Isis (Oken) 21: 273 (1828)
Xylopia glabra L. in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2: 1250 (1759)
Xylopicron glabrum (L.) Crantz in Inst. Rei Herb. 2: 202 (1766)

PUBLICATIONS

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VERNACULAR NAME

Afrikaans: Soetsak
Assamese: Ata-kathal, Katal
Bantoanon: Atis
Bengali: আতা ফল Ata phol
Bunun: Makasma, Sikia
Chinese (simplified): 番荔枝 - 番鬼荔枝 - 释迦
Chinese (traditional): 番荔枝 - 釋迦
Czech: Anona šupinatá
Danish: Sød annona
English: Custard apple, Custard-apple, Sugar Apple, Sweetsop, Sweet sop
Filipino: Atis
Finnish: Sokeriannoona
French Pommier cannelle
French: Attier, pomme cannelle, Pommier cannelle
German: Rahm-Annone, Rahmapfel, Zimtapfel
Guangdong: 番荔枝 - 釋迦
Hindi: शरीफा - सीताफल - सीता-फल - सरीफा Sharifa, Sitaphal, Sitha-phal, Saripha
Hong Kong: 番荔枝 - 釋迦
Indonesian: Srikaya
Japanese: シャカトウ or バンレイシ
Java: Serkaya, Srikawis, Serakaja
Kannada: Sitha-phala, Sita Phala
Khmer: ទីប បៃ - ទីប ស្រុក Tiep baay, Tiep srôk
Lao: ຂຽບ Khièb
Macao: 番荔枝 - 釋迦
Malayalam: Aathi, Aatha, Aathachakka, Seethappazham
Malaysia: Nona sri kaya, Buah nona, Sri kaya
Maluku: Atisi, Hirikaya, Atis
Manipuri: Sitaphal
Marathi: Sitaphal
New Zealand: Sugar Apple
Nusa Tenggara: Garoso, Ata
Oria: Ata
Palauan: Ngelrangebard
Polish: Flaszowiec łuskowaty
Portuguese: Fruta-do-conde, Pinha, Fruta-do-conde, pinha
Russian: Аннона чешуйчатая, Сахарное яблоко
Sanskrit: Shubha, Seetaaphalam
Sinhala: සීනි ආත්තා
Slovak: Anona šupinatá
Spanish: Anón, Capulín, Saramuyo
Sulawesi: Atis soe walanda, Sirikaya, Perse
Sumatera: Delima bintang, Seraikaya
Sunda: Sarikaya
Tagalog: Atis
Taiwan: 番荔枝 - 釋迦
Tamil: சீதாப்பழம் Sitapalam
Telugu: Sithaphalamu, Sitapandu
Ternate: Atis
Thai: น้อยหน่า
Vietnam: na, mang câù ta

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