University of Florida Plant Information Sugar Apple Growing in the Florida Home Landscape

HS38

Scientific Name: Annona squamosa L.

Common Names: annon, custard apple, sweetsop

Family: Annonaceae

Origin: The sugar apple is indigenous to tropical America.

Relatives: cherimoya (A. cherimola), soursop (A. muricata), custard apple (A. reticulata), pond apple (A. glabra), ilama (A. diversifolia), atemoya (A. cherimola x A. squamosa)

Distribution: Sugar apples are mainly grown in the tropics. In Florida, sugar apple production is restricted to warm locations along the lower southeast and southwest coasts. However, home landscape trees may be found along the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee and in warm, protected locations along the lower east and west coasts.

Importance: Sugar apples are a common fruit tree in the home landscape throughout the tropics and have been widely planted in South Florida.

1. This document is HS38, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date October 1979. Revised April 1994, October 2005, and November 2016. Reviewed December 2019. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication. Jonathan H. Crane, Carlos F. Balerdi, and Ian Maguire2

2. Jonathan H. Crane, professor, tropical fruit crop specialist, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; Carlos F. Balerdi, professor, multi-county tropical fruit crops Extension agent (retired), UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County; Ian Maguire, media artist (former), UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.