Atis
Annona squamosa · Sugar apple
- Names in the 1901 book
- Ates, Tag.; Custard Apple, Eng.
- Names in the 1985 book
- English: Sugar apple, Sweet sop; Tagalog: Atis
- Colours
- flowergreenish-yellowfruitgreen
- Native range
- Tropical Americas
- Family
- Annonaceae, filed in the book under Anonaceæ
- Printed in 1901 as
- Anona squamosa, L. (A. tuberosa, Rumph.)
- Printed in 1985 as
- Anona squamosa L.
- Sources
- Page 20 on Project Gutenberg · Healing Wonders of Herbs (1985), page 70 · Wikipedia
The plant today
Annona squamosa is a small, well-branched tree or shrub from the family Annonaceae that bears edible fruits called sugar apples, sweetsops or custard apples. It tolerates a tropical lowland climate better than its relatives Annona reticulata and Annona cherimola, and is the most widely cultivated of these Annona species. Annona squamosa is semi-(or late) deciduous, and 3 to 8 metres (10 to 26 feet) tall, similar to soursop (Annona muricata). It is a native of tropical climate in the Americas, and Spanish traders aboard the Manila galleons docking in the Philippines brought it to Asia.
Excerpt from “Annona squamosa” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 98 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 28 provinces, most often Metropolitan Manila (12), Cebu (7), Iloilo (7), Guimaras (5), Davao del Norte (4), Davao Oriental (4), Lanao del Norte (3), Cagayan (2), and 20 more.
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 the mature ates is edible and is one of the most delicious that grows in the Philippines; its white and delicately perfumed pulp has a delicious flavor. The unripe fruit is exceedingly astringent. The fermented juice of the ripe pulp is used in certain parts of America to prepare a popular drink. The powdered seeds make a useful parasiticide especially when used on the scalp, but it is necessary to avoid getting any of the drug in the eyes on account of its irritant effect.
Botanical description
Tree 8 or 9° high with leaves alternate, oblong, the edges pubescent. Flowers greenish-yellow, axillary, solitary; peduncle not curved. Petals 6, convergent. Stamens crowded, indefinite. Fruit fleshy, covered with scales or rather rounded tubercles; beneath is the white and fragment pulp, covering the long-oval seeds.
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.
- Fainting spellsCrushed leaves, smelled.Only if the person is breathing and has a strong pulse. Hold the crushed leaves under the nose until the dizziness passes.Page 24
- Lice infestation on the headPounded seeds in oil, left on the scalp overnight.Pound half a cup of seeds and mix with a quarter cup of oil. Wrap the head in cloth overnight, then shampoo and comb. Repeat daily for 3 to 5 days.Page 31
- Mosquito bitesJuice of the unripe fruit, applied.Pound one unripe fruit for its juice. Apply three times a day.Page 32
Summarised from Herminia de Guzman-Ladion, Healing Wonders of Herbs (Manila: Philippine Publishing House, 1985), where this plant is shown as “Atis” on page 70. 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.
- Antioxidant, Immunostimulant, and Growth-Promoting Effects of Dietary Annona squamosa Leaf Extract on Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, and Its Tolerance to Thermal Stress and Aeromonas sobria Infection
- Biosynthesis and Characterizations of Silver Nanoparticles from Annona squamosa Leaf and Fruit Extracts for Size-Dependent Biomedical Applications
- Green Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Annona glabra and Annona squamosa Extracts with Antimicrobial, Anticancer, Apoptosis Potentials, Assisted by In Silico Modeling, and Metabolic Profiling