sugar-apple the English name used in the W. Indies and America for the fruit of Annona squamosa, a small tree native to tropical America but now distributed in tropical regions around the world. It is also called sweet sop (in contrast to the soursop). The British in India called it custard apple, and it is also known more precisely as the ‘scaly custard apple’ (the scales which cover the greenish-yellow skin, under a whitish bloom, are also indicated by the specific name squamosa). The sugar-apple is grown elsewhere (e.g. SE Asia, Queensland, Réunion), but enjoys greatest popularity in Latin America, the W. Indies, and India. Its range in America extends from Mexico and the W. Indies down to parts of Brazil.
