2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Sugar apple (lat. Annona squamosa) - a fruit tree, also called annona scaly.
History
Unfortunately, mankind does not have accurate information about the appearance of the scaly annona. It remains only to assume that the homeland of this peculiar fruit is South America.
Around the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese brought the sugar apple to India. By that time, this crop was already very actively cultivated in Indonesia and began to spread further - to the Hawaiian Islands, to Egypt, to the Palestinian lowlands, as well as to tropical Africa, Australia, Polynesia and southern China.
Currently, annona scaly has gained unprecedented popularity in Brazil - there it can be found almost on every corner.
Description
A sugar apple is a tree that grows from three to six meters in height, endowed with two-row leaves, which give off a fairly strong aroma when rubbed. They usually grow in length from five to fifteen centimeters, and in width - from two to five centimeters.
The fragrant flowers of annona scaly, located along the branches, are distinguished by an oblong shape, reach a length of 2.5 to 3.8 cm and have a pair of inner and outer petals.
The average length of rounded (however, sometimes they can be conical or oblong) complex fruits of annona scaly is about ten centimeters. The bumpy skin of the fruit consists of several protruding segments and is distinguished by a gray-green, bluish-greenish or pale green color. And the fibrous-creamy whitish pulp inside each fruit is always very sweet, juicy and fragrant. In addition, inside the fruit you can find from two to six dozen shiny black seeds. As for the average weight of fruits, it is usually equal to 300 - 350 g. As a rule, the harvest of sugar apples begins in June and ends in September.
Where grows
The sugar apple is actively cultivated in Central and South America, as well as in Polynesia, Australia, Africa, South China, Indonesia, India, the Philippines and the Antilles.
Application
The pulp of ripe fruits is eaten. Immediately before their use, the rough skin of the fruit must be opened, after which the pulp is divided into segments and eaten, while spitting out the seeds. Quite often, the juicy pulp of sugar apples is used to prepare soft drinks and a wide variety of desserts.
The nucleoli of annona scaly seeds contain from 14 to 49% non-drying oil, which can be safely used in the production of soap as an alternative to peanut butter. And after proper treatment with alkali, this oil can be used for food purposes as well.
From the leaves of this plant, an extremely high-quality essential oil is obtained, enriched with sesquiterpenes and terpenes.
Not the last role is given to the sugar apple in traditional medicine. A decoction of its leaves is an excellent antipyretic and tonic. And unripe fruits with astringent properties, as well as a decoction of roots or bark, are widely used for dysentery. Unripe fruits are used in El Salvador for diarrhea, and the pulp of ripe fruits in India is applied to tumors. And the Mexicans put Annona scaly leaves in the nests of laying hens and rub the floors with them - their rather strong aroma is able to scare away lice perfectly.
Harm
The seeds of annona scaly, which have a rather pungent taste, are poisonous - poisoning with them can lead to the most unpredictable consequences. And if the juice of this plant gets into the eyes, a person can go blind.
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