The sugar-apple, or sweetsop, is the fruit of Annona squamosa, the most widely grown species of Annona and a native of the tropical Americas and West Indies. The Spanish traders of Manila galleons brought it to Asia, where its old Mexican name ate may still be found in Odia Aata,Bengali aataa, Nepalese aati, Sinhalese mati anoda, Burmese awzar thee, Indonesia “ Srikaya”’ and atis in the Philippines. It is also known as Seetaphal in India and Shareefa Pakistan and in the Philippines and in Australia. The name is also used in Portuguese as ata.
The fruit is spherical-conical, 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter and 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long, and weighing 100–240 g (3.5–8.5 oz), with a thick rind composed of knobby segments. The color is typically pale green through blue-green, with a deep pink blush in certain varieties, and typically has a bloom. It is unique among Annona fruits in being segmented, and the segments tend to separate when ripe, exposing the interior.
