Soursop
Annona muricata

Family: Annonaceae

What it is like

It is a low bushy tree 8-10 m high. The leaves are long (14 cm) and narrow (4 cm). The leaves are thick and slightly shiny on top. The flowers are large (2-3 cm), rounded and produced on short stems on the branches. They occur singly, or in groups of three. The flowers have two layers of thick fleshy petals. The fruit are 10-30 cm long. The fruit is spiny and the flesh is juicy. Many black seeds are embedded in the white flesh. Fruit are often distorted due to only some of the ovules being fertilised. Beetles are normally thought to do the pollinating. This means fruit end up heart shaped when unevenly pollinated. The flesh of the fruit is white. Several kinds with different sweetness, shape and juiciness occur.

There are about 100-150 Annona species. It has anticancer properties. It is also used for a range of other medicinal conditions.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in tropical lowland areas below 1200 m altitude. In Colombia it grows between 100-2,000 m above sea level. It can tolerate quite poor soils and a humid climate. It cannot tolerate frost. The trees can withstand temperatures down to freezing (0°C) for a short time but salt laden winds from the sea can kill the trees. They need a well drained soil and cannot tolerate water-logging. The trees continue to grow and produce satisfactorily in fairly poor compact soil. But improving the fertility increases the amount of fruit. They can grow well in hot humid areas but a fungus disease called Blossom blight can cause flowers to fall off. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Amazon, Andamans, Angola, Antingua and Barbuda, Antilles, Argentina, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia (country/location of origin), Bougainville, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, Central America, Chile, China, Chuuk, Colombia, Cook Islands, Congo DR, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guam, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Hispaniola, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South America, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies (country/location of origin), West Timor, Yap, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Fruit can be eaten fresh or used in ice-cream and for drinks. Young fruit can be cooked as a vegetable. Leaves are edible cooked. They are used for tea. CAUTION The seeds are toxic, so should be removed before processing.

A quite popular fruit in many coastal areas of Papua New Guinea and other tropical countries.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves, vegetable

How it is grown

Trees are grown either as seedling trees or grafted plants. They can be grown from cuttings or air layering. Trees are easy to grow and maintain. Plants can easily be grown from seeds. Seeds can be planted fresh or stored. Seeds grow in about 15 to 20 days. Trees grown from seeds vary in the quality of the fruit. Seedlings are transferred to polythene bags when 15 cm tall. Trees can also be grown from cuttings or by grafting. This allows better trees to be selected and produced. Seedlings are suitable for grafting after 6 months. Trees need to be about 5m apart. Flowers are pollinated by insects. Hand pollination of flowers can increase the number of fruit that are produced. Fruit are soft and fleshy and difficult to transport.

Trees grow quickly. Trees commence bearing by the third year. It bears fruit almost continually throughout the year, but there is normally one season when more fruit are getting ripe. Fruit can weigh up to 4-5 kg each. A tree can produce 12-24 fruit in a year. The fruit contain 11-14% sugars.

Its other names

Local names

Ai-ata, Ai pen mamami, Anoanaa, Anuune, Ata, Atti, Bei, Catuche, Corossol, Durian belanda, Durian benggala, Durian maki, Duyin-awza, Ekarebang, Ekereket, Graviola, Guanabana, Guayabano, Guyubana, Ilabanos, Ingbe, Jojaab, Kaiedi, Kaliklik, Karaosoly, Katu-anoda, Katu-attha, Khan thalot, Khiep thet, Koitchila laka lakaran, Koropataka, Laguana, Maiasi, Ma thurian, Mang cua, Mbundu ngombe, Mtopetope, Mundla sitaphal, Mullatha, Muri at, Nangka belanda, Nangka seberang, Pohon sirsak, Ramphal, Rata-attha, Rian-nam, Salifa, Saput, Sasapo, Saua sap, Sausau, Seetha, Sei, Sele, Seremaia, Sirsak, Sitha-seetha palam, Soensaka, Soran, Talapo, Te tiotabu, Thurian khaek, Thurian thet, Tiep banla, Tiep barang, Voantsokona, Zuurzak

Synonyms

Annona bonplandiana H.B.K.; Annona caerensis Barbosa Rodriguez; Annona macrocarpa auct. non. Barb. Rodr.; Annona muricata var. borinquensis Morales; Guanabanus muricatus (L.) Gomez.; and others