180 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



terranean region, although it has been planted in several dis- 

 tricts there. 



So far as is known, the sugar-apple tree has never been grown 

 to fruiting size in California : the climate appears to be too cool 

 for it. In Florida, on the contrary, it is quite successful. P. 

 W. Reasoner records that it has fruited as far north as Putnam 

 County. On the east coast it occurs as far north as Cape Can- 

 averal, and on the west it is found on the south side of the 

 Manatee River. The zone in which it can safely be grown, 

 however, lies farther south, viz., from Punta Gorda on the west 

 coast and Palm Beach on the east to Key West. Throughout 

 this part of Florida it succeeds admirably, and deserves greater 

 popularity than it enjoys at present. 



, In addition to sugar-apple, a name probably of West Indian 



Origin, the term sweet-sop is used in the British West Indies. 



/ In India it is called custard-apple by English-speaking people. 



(^Its commonest name in Hindustani is sharifa (meaning noble) : 

 but it is also called sitaphal (the fruit of Sita). The name ata 

 is given it in parts of India. In the French colonies the names 

 are pomme-cannelle (cinnamon apple) and atte. In the interior 

 of Brazil the Portuguese name is pinha; on the coast atta and 

 fructa do conde are also heard. In Mexico the Spanish terms 

 are anona, anona blanca, and (erroneously) saramuya and 

 chirimoya. In Cuba anon is the form generally used ; this also 

 appears in Costa Rica. The Aztec name used in ancient Mexico 

 was texaltzapotl, meaning "zapote which grows on stony 

 ground." The botanical synonyms of A. squamosa, L., are 

 several; Safford lists A. cinerea, Dunal, A. Forskahlii, DC., 

 and A. biflora, Moc. & Sesse. 



The sugar-apple is preeminently a dessert fruit. Unlike 

 the soursop, it is never made into preserves nor is it commonly 

 used for sherbets. In composition it is similar to the cherimoya. 

 Alice R. Thompson, who has analyzed the fruit in Hawaii, has 

 found it to contain : Total solids 24.82 per cent, ash 0.67 



