|Etymology||Genus||From its Haitian common name, Menona|
|Species||Scaly; referring to the fruit|
|Common Names||Sugar Apple, Sweetsop, Custard Apple|
|Status||Exotic: Cultivated Only|
|Native Distribution||Exact origin unknown, probably from Central America|
Commonly grown in private residences or gardens for their edible fruits, Annona squamosa is a small tree of up too 6m. The alternate leaves are thin, lanceolate in shape, and slightly hairy when young. The fruit is most distinctive, with its "scaly" covering, which are actually the enlarged pistils of the flower, combined into an aggregate fruit.
Its other common name of Custard Apple appears to be used interchangeably between several Annona species, including Annona reticulata and Annona cherimola, with the former being the more widely accepted, at least from online sources.
A small tree at Pavilion's Edible Garden, 2020.
Leaf upper and lower surfaces.