Anonas
Annona reticulata · Custard apple
- Names in the 1901 book
- Anonas, Sp.-Fil.
- Names in the 1985 book
- English: Custard apple; Tagalog: Anonas
- Colours
- flowergreenish-yellowfruitred, brown
- Native range
- Tropical Americas
- Family
- Annonaceae, filed in the book under Anonaceæ
- Printed in 1901 as
- Anona reticulata, L.
- Printed in 1985 as
- Anona reticulata Linn.
- Sources
- Page 21 on Project Gutenberg · Healing Wonders of Herbs (1985), page 69 · Wikipedia
The plant today
Annona reticulata is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the plant family Annonaceae. It is best known for its fruit, called custard apple, a common name shared with fruits of several other species in the same genus: A. cherimola and A. squamosa. Other English common names include ox heart and bullock's heart. The fruit is sweet and useful in preparation of desserts, but is generally less popular for eating than that of A. cherimola.
Excerpt from “Annona reticulata” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 29 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 7 provinces: Cavite (2), Davao del Sur (1), Kalinga (1), Laguna (1), Occidental Mindoro (1), Oriental Mindoro (1), Pangasinan (1).
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The fruit of this species is neither as much prized nor as abundant in the Philippines as that of the ates. When unripe it possesses the same properties as the latter. The large proportion of tannin which both species contain in their unripe state, makes them very useful in treating diarrhœa and dysentery. They are administered in the form of a decoction, by enema. The sap of the trunk is very irritating. The roots are used by the American Indians to treat epilepsy. Lemon juice is the antidote for the sap of this species.
I wish to call attention to the similarity of the common name of this plant to another entirely distinct species commonly used in the Tagalo therapeutics; namely, the anonag̃ (Cordia), with which it must not be confused.
Botanical description
Tree 10° high with leaves lanceolate, pubescent. Flowers in a sort of umbel. Corolla like that of A. squamosa. Fruit without the plainly visible tubercles of the foregoing species, their presence being merely suggested by a sort of net traced on the surface.
What the 1985 book uses it for
A record of home remedies from 1985, with the book's amounts and doses reworded. It is not medical advice.
- IndigestionWarmed leaves laid on the stomach.Hold the warm leaves in place with a binder and change them every 2 hours. The book recommends this for children and babies.Page 30
Summarised from Herminia de Guzman-Ladion, Healing Wonders of Herbs (Manila: Philippine Publishing House, 1985), where this plant is shown as “Anonas” on page 69. The book is in copyright, so its wording and photographs are not reproduced. Amounts are the book's, restated.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of Annona reticulata extract: molecular docking, dynamics, and ADMET properties for cancer treatment and anti-inflammatory activity
- Assessment of In Vivo Analgesic, Anti-Inflammatory and Wound Healing Properties of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Annona reticulata Linn
- Evaluation of Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, and Anticancer Activities of Methanol Extract of Annona reticulata Linn. Leaves