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Annona squamosa

Accession Count: 0
Common Name: sugar apple, sweetsop
Family Name: Annonaceae
Botanical Name: Annona squamosa
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Characteristics: Annona squamosa is a small deciduous tree that develops an open, rounded, or spreading crown with long and slender branches (1, 2, 3). The zigzag stems are irregular and lowly branching from the base of the cylindrical trunk, which reaches about 15-20 feet in height (3, 4, 5). The top of leaves, branches, and petioles will be pubescent when young, but the underside of leaves will remain covered with fine hairs (2, 4, 6). Dark green above and pale-green underneath, the leaves are arranged alternately on the petioles, simple, oblong, blunt-tipped, and aromatic when crushed (2, 4). Blooms will appear during early spring or throughout the year in tropical regions, forming singly, in groups of 2-4 in the leaf axils of young shoots, or opposite the leaves (2, 5, 7). The flowers are small, white, and fragrant with a sweet scent, borne on drooping stems (5). Flowers will never fully open, possessing three sepals surrounding three fleshy, pubescent outer-petals – greenish-yellow on the exterior and yellowish-white on the inside. The three inner petals are small, insignificant or absent, and arranged alternately with the outer-petals, surrounding the numerous yellow-white stamens (2, 4). Once mature, aggregate fruits will develop from multiple flowers in summer or fall, round or irregularly heart-shaped with polygonal tubercles (4, 7). Fruits will be pale-green, glaucous, bluish-green, or dull deep-pink in color, with black pips embedded within edible creamy-white pulp (2, 3, 5).
Compound: Ann squ
Geographic Origin: American Tropics
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Biome Origin:
Natural History: A. squamosa was named by the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl von Linnaeus, who included it within Species Plantarum 1:537 (1753) (8). The genus, Annona, derives from the Latin anon, for “yearly produce”, or “of the harvest”, referring to the yearly production of fruits (9). At the same time, Annona also refers to the Latin American name for the harvest goddess (10). The specific epithet, squamosa, derives from the Latin squamosa or squamosus, “scaly”, in respect to the fruit’s scaly appearance (10, 11). However, there are numerous common names for A. squamosa, including “sweet apple”, “sweetsop”, and “custard apple”, referring to the sweet taste of the fruit (9).
The exact origin of sweet apple is unknown, but it is assumed to have emerged from lowland Central America or within the Caribbean (2, 12). It is distributed throughout the tropics of the Caribbean, Central America, and Northeastern South America, but prefers hot and dry desert environments or the low-lying interior plains of tropical countries, at elevations of 0-2000 feet (9, 10). Sweet apple was likely carried from the New World to the Philippines by early Spanish explorers via transport of seed. Before 1590, the Portuguese are assumed to have introduced A. squamosa to southern India, and it has been grown in Indonesia since the early 17th century (2). Today, the species has been widely cultivated in China, Australia, tropical Africa, Egypt, the lowlands of Palestine, southern Mexico, the West Indies, the Bahamas and Bermuda, and Florida, in addition to its native habitat. However, A. squamosa is the most valued in India and Brazil, where the fruits are abundant and popular in markets (2). As a result of its popularity, sweet apple often escapes cultivation and is considered naturalized and as a weed by the Global Compendium of Weeds (2012), having established in French Polynesia, Nauru, Mayotte, Jamaica, India, Australia (North Queensland), and Cambodia, with the potential to invade other tropical or desert environments (2, 4).
Cultivation Notes: Sweet apple is frost-tender and only hardy to USDA zones 10a – 11 (30-40°F) (13). Generally, the species requires a tropical or subtropical climate, and cannot survive long periods of frost or cold temperatures (3). Although drought is tolerated and dry conditions are preferred, overly dry conditions will result in leaf drop and reduced yield (14). Water moderately during the growing season and provide high humidity (over 70%) to encourage growth (1, 2). However, sweet apple also does not tolerate flooding, wind stress, or salt stress, and should be sheltered when grown outside (14). If soil is well draining, A. squamosa is tolerant of most soil conditions, including shallow, poor or sandy substrate, limestone, heavy loam, and a pH of 5.5-6.5 (2, 3). While siting in “muck soil” will create more vigorous growth, the high nitrogen content will also lead to reduced yield, and should be avoided if fruiting is desired (14). In addition, full sun is necessary, as sweet apple cannot grow under shady conditions (6).
A. squamosa is commonly propagated through seed, due to little variability existing among seedlings (14). However, seeds will be slow to germinate, and other methods may be preferred under improved selection, and to confer early fruiting (2, 12). Propagation is also possible through veneer-grafting, cleft-grafting, side-grafting, shield budding, inarching, air-layering, and through cuttings (2, 14). However, cuttings and air-layering have a low rate of success and will result in trees with low-drought resistance. Shield-budding and inarching are recommended, with success rates of 75% and 100%, respectively (2).
Ethnobotany: Sweet apple is extensively valued for the production of its fruits, which possess a sweet, creamy, musky, custard-like flavor and are considered to be excellent (3, 12, 15). The fruits are consumed raw, blended with milk or ice-cream to create a cool beverage, or used to flavor sherbet, ice cream, and jellies (1, 2). However, the poisonous seeds must be removed or spat out to avoid intoxication (16). In fact, the seeds, leaves, and roots of sweet apple are all poisonous, and have often used as an insecticide, vermicide, fish poison, and control for human head-lice or lice infesting chicken coops (2, 3, 6). Yet, when applying to human scalps, care must be taken to avoid the eyes, as the powdered seed is a severe irritant and can cause blindness (2).
Other uses include extraction of the oil for the production of soap or woody perfumes, the bark fibers for cordage, and the timber for firewood or the production of weak, soft, wood (2, 6). In addition, A. squamosa can be used as a shade tree in cultivated environments (9).
Medicinally, A. squamosa possesses antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and hepatoprotective properties, and has merit as a potential treatment of diabetes (17, 18). The fruit is astringent, and can be applied against diarrhea, rheumatism, dysentery, loose bowels, indigestion, or mixed with salt as a treatment for tumors (2, 9, 16, 19). Both the flowers and fruit are capable of restoring sexual functioning, alertness, and well-being when combined into a soup with other ingredients (19). The bark is astringent and used to treat diarrhea, increase strength, and as a sedative in conjunction with the leaves (6, 19). At the same time, the root is also astringent and a drastic purgative, being used to treat dysentery, clear urinary infections, and improve urinary functioning (2, 9, 19). Finally, the leaves and extracted oil have been used to treat a variety of ailments, including insomnia, indigestion, hysteria, fainting spells, tonic, cold remedy, rheumatism, and to dispel intestinal worms (2, 6, 19).
Height: 11 - 15 feet
Width: 11 - 15 feet
Growth Rate: Slow Growing
Grow Season: Spring
Flower Season: Spring
Color: Green
Function: Shade
Spread: Spreading
Allergen: Non-allergenic
Invasive: Invasive
Toxicity: Toxic
Hardy: Tender
Water Use: Low water Use
Citations:
  1. Useful Tropical Plants. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  2. Purdue University: Horticulture & Landscape Architecture. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  3. Growables. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  4. CABI Invasive Species Compendium. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  5. Rarexoticseeds. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  6. Plants for a Future. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  7. Trade Winds Fruit. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  8. Tropicos. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  9. World Agroforestry. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  10. National Parks Flora & Fauna Web. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  11. Latin Dictionary & Grammar Resources. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  12. Useful Plants for Warm Climates. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  13. Dave’s Garden. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  14. University of Florida. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  15. Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  16. Seeds of Rare Ornamental & Medicinal Plants. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  17. ScienceDirect. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  18. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
  19. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved February 23rd, 2021.
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Annona squamosa