custard-apple

custard-apple common name for members of the Annonaceae, a family of shrubs, woody vines, and small trees of the tropics. The custard-apples ( Annona squamosa and A. reticulata ) and other members of the family bear a soft, sweet fruit popular in the tropics and have been transplanted from the Americas to the Old World. The pawpaw, or papaw ( Asimina triloba ), one of the few temperate species remaining from the more extensive range of the family in the past, is a shrub or small tree of E North America which also bears a sweet edible fruit. The name pawpaw is sometimes applied to the papaya , an unrelated plant. The custard-apple family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Magnoliales.

custard apple The fruit of various species of tropical American trees of the family Anonaceae. Sour sop, Anona muricata, has white fibrous flesh and is less sweet than the others; the fruit may weigh up to 4 kg (8 lb). The sweet sop (A. squamosa) is also known as the ‘true’ custard apple, and is especially popular in the West Indies. The bullock's heart (A. reticulata) has buff‐coloured flesh. A 100‐g portion is a rich source of vitamin C and supplies 90 kcal (380 kJ).