• Family : ANNONACEAE
  (Custard-Apple Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : SITAPHAL FAMILY (सीताफल फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Annonaceae
• Synonym(s) : Annona asiatica L.; Annona asiatica Vahl; Annona cinerea Dunal; Annona distincta Raeusch.; Annona forsskalii DC.; Annona glabra Forssk.; Annona squamosa Delile; Annona squamosa f. parvifolia Kuntze;
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Annona squamosa L.
• Common name : Custard Apple, Sugar apple, Sweet sop, Sweetsop-Anon, Araticum
• Vernacular name :
  • Sitha-phal, Saripha (Hindi)
  • Sitha-phala (Kannada)
  • Sithaphalamu, Sitapandu (Telugu)
  • Ata (Oria)
  • Shubha (Sanskrit)
  • Sitaphal (Marathi)
  • Aathi, Aatha, Aathachakka, Seethappazham (Malayalam)
  • Ata-kathal (Assamese)
  • Ata phol (Bengali)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests, scrub forests
• Comments / notes : Cultivated widely in Tropics, Naturalized; It is used as animal food, a poison and a medicine, has environmental uses and social uses and for fuel and food.
• Key identification features : Tree upto 6 m high with spreading branches; Leaves oblong-lanceolate, dark green; Flowers axillary, solitary or few together, yellowish; Fruits many seeded, globose, yellowish.
• Flower, Fruit : March-December
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Chittoor district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, S.P.S. Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
  • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mahbubnagar district
  • Karnataka : Ballari district, Chamarajanagara district, Kolar district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Akola district, Nagpur district
  • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Balangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalahandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Kendujhar district, Khordha district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district,Sambalpur district, Sundargarh district
  • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kancheepuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Karur district, Krishnagiri district, Madurai district, Namakkal district, Pudukkottai district, Sivaganga district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tiruvannamalai district, Villipuram district, Vellore district
  • Arunachal Pradesh : West Kameng district, East Kameng district
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Lakshadweep : Kavaratti Islands, Minicoy Islands
• Native : Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá
• Exotic/Native : Exotic
• World Distribution : Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
  • J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • C., Sudhakar Reddy & Roy, Parth. (2011). Plant Diversity of Lakshadweep Islands.
  • P.K . Hajra ., D.M. Verma and G.S. Giri (1996). Materials For The Flora Of Arunachal Pradesh , Vol (1), Pg : 116
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Annona squamosa
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Annona squamosa. Downloaded on 2 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution