sweetsop

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sweetsop

tree and fruit

Also known as: Annona squamosa, pinha, sugar apple

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 9, 2024 • Article History

Also called:: sugar apple or pinha

Related Topics:: custard apple; atemoya; fruit

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sweetsop, (Annona squamosa), small tree or shrub of the custard apple family (Annonaceae). Native to the West Indies and tropical America, sweetsop has been widely introduced to the Eastern Hemisphere tropics. The fruit contains a sweet custardlike pulp, which may be eaten raw or made into a juice. See also custard apple.

Sweetsop is an evergreen plant with thin oblong ovate leaves. The solitary greenish flowers produce a yellowish green fruit resembling a shortened pine cone. The tuberculate fruit, formed by the fusion of many ripened ovaries and a receptacle, is 7.5 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) in diameter. Unlike the closely related soursop (Annona muricata), the sweetsop has fruits with a segmented rind that can separate when fully ripe.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.