 P. Goltra
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Taxonomy: |
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Annona muricata L. (Annonaceae)
Common Names:
English: prickly custard apple, soursop
Spanish: guanabana, zopote de viejas, cabeza de negro, catoche, anona de puntitas, anona de broquel; sinini;
Portuguese: araticum do grande, graviola, or jaca do Para
Netherlands Antilles: sorsaka or zunrzak,
Malaya: durian belanda, durian maki; or seri kaya belanda
Thailand: thu-rian-khack.
Chamorro: laguaná, laguana, laguanaha, syasyap
Chuukese: saasaf, saasaf, saasap, sasaf
Fijian: sarifa, seremaia
French: anone muriquee, cacheimantier èpineux, cachiman èpineux, corasol, corossol, corossol, corossol èpineux, corossolier
Kosraean: sosap
Maori (Cook Islands): kātara‘apa, kātara‘apa papa‘ā, naponapo taratara
Marquesan: koroso
Marshallese: jojaab
Mokilese: truka shai
Niuean: talapo, talapo fotofoto
Palauan: sausab
Pohnpeian: sae, sei
Samoan: sanalapa, sasalapa, sasalapa
Spanish: guanábana, guanábano
Tahitian: tapotapo papa‘a, tapotapo urupe
Tongan: ‘apele ‘initia
Tuamotuan: korosor, tapotaporatara
Yapese: sausau
Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division; Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Magnoliidae
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Annonaceae
Genus: Annona
Species: muricata
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Description: |
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Soursop trees are bushy and low, only about 7.5-9 m tall. Young branchlets are rusty-hairy. The smooth, glossy, dark green leaves are oblong to elliptical and pointed at both ends, 6.25-20 x 2.5-6.25 cm wide.
The underside of the leaves is somewhat lighter than the top. Solitary flowers emerge anywhere on the trunk, branches or twigs. They are 4-5 cm long, and cone shaped, the 3 fleshy outer petals are yellow-green, the 3 inner petals are pale-yellow.
The fruit looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. It is more or less oval or heart-shaped, though it tends to be lopsided or curved. The fruit is fairly variable in size, ranging from 10-30 cm long and up to 15 cm in width. They can weigh as much as 6.8 kg. The fruit is covered with a leathery-appearing, inedible, bitter skin which is covered with many flexible spikes. The skin is dark-green in the immature fruit, becoming slightly yellowish-green before the mature fruit is soft to the touch. The inside of the skin is cream-colored and granular. The white flesh, which is the edible part of the flesh is fibrous and juicy, and separates easily from the rind. The pulp smells a little like a pineapple, but the sweet, acrid flavor is unique and somewhat indescribable. The fruit is segmented, with some segments containing a single oval, smooth, hard, black seed, 1.25-2 cm long. A large fruit may contain from a few dozen to 200 or more seeds.
(www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/soursop.html)
(http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/annona_muricata.htm)
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Geographic Distribution: |
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The soursop probably originated in the West Indies and in northern South America. Wild and cultivated species are found from sea-level to an altitude of 1,150 m throughout the West Indies and from southern Mexico to Peru and Argentina.
It is widely distributed from southeastern China to Australia, SE Asia, the warm lowlands of eastern and western Africa, and throughout the pacific.
The soursop is one of the most abundant fruits in the Dominican Republic and one of the most popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Colombia and northeastern Brazil.
(www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/soursop.html)
(http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/annona_muricata.htm)
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Food Uses: |
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There are many varieties of soursop cultivated throughout its range. Generally varieties are selected for sweetness, acidity, and pulp texture.
Soursops are eaten straight from the tree, can be juiced, are popular as flavorings in ices and popsicles, and are occasionally made into a custard with sugar and milk.
(www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/soursop.html)
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Dangerous/Poisonous: |
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The juice from the seeds are poisonous and irritating and should be avoided. Research carried out in the Caribbean has established a connection between consumption of soursop and atypical forms of Parkinson's disease due to the very high concentration of Annonacin.
(www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/soursop.html)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop)
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Medicinal Uses:** |
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Ground seeds and leaf decoctions are used against head lice, and as pesticides. The juice of the ripe fruit is said to be diuretic.
Taken when fasting, it is believed to relieve liver ailments and leprosy. Pulverized immature fruits, which are very astringent, are decocted as a dysentery remedy. To draw out chiggers and speed healing, the flesh of an acid soursop is applied as a poultice unchanged for 3 days. In parts of Carribean the leave are believed to have a relaxing, even sobering effect. In Africa, it is given to children with fever and they are also bathed lightly with it. A decoction of the young shoots or leaves is regarded in the West Indies as a remedy for gall bladder trouble, as well as coughs, catarrh, diarrhea, dysentery and indigestion; is said to "cool the blood," and to be able to stop vomiting and aid delivery in childbirth. Mashed leaves are used as a poultice to alleviate eczema and other skin afflictions and rheumatism, and the sap of young leaves is put on skin eruptions. The roots of the tree are employed as a vermifuge and the root bark as an antidote for poisoning. A tincture of the powdered seeds and bay rum is a strong emetic.
(www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/soursop.html)
** The information provided above is not intended to be used as a guide for treatment of medical conditions using plants.
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Indigenous Practices: |
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The wood is light and not very durable. It has been used in Colombia for pipestems and barrelstaves.
(www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/soursop.html)
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NEWS
