ABOUT 'ANNONA RETICULATA' PLANT
Annona reticulata
FAMILY:- ANNONACEAE
BOTANICAL NAME:- Annona reticulata
VERNACULAR NAMES:
SINHALA : Attha, Weli-attha.
TAMIL : Ramsitha.
ENGLISH : Bullock's heart.
DESCRIPTION:
A small tree 5-10 m tall. Branches grayish sericeous when young, glabrate with age. Axillary buds ovoid, obtuse.
LEAVES:- Leaf blade about 10-20 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, lancelot, acute or obtuse and shortly decurrent at base, gradually long acuminate at apex, pubescent on both sides when young, glabrate on upper side at maturity.
FLOWERS:- Green, several from internodal cymes, rarely leaf-opposed.
FRUIT:- It is up to 10 cm in diameter. Spherical or ovid,'turning yellow or reddish, smooth. Pulp-yellowish. Seed-black brown (Macmillan, 1956).
DISTRIBUTION :
It originated in the West Indies and is grown as a fruit in Sri Lanka.
EDIBLE PARTS : The fruit
FOOD USE: Riped fruit is eaten fresh. Juice is also used as a drink.
NUTRITIONAL AND THERAPEUTIC VALUE
Moisture - 76.8 g,
Energy - 70 Kcal,
Proteins - 1.4 g,
Fats - 0.2 g,
Carbohydrates 15.7 g,
Calcium - 10 mg,
Phosphorus - 10 mg,
Iron - 0.6 mg.
Fresh leaves used as topicals applied to the stomach of children suffering from indigestion. Fresh leaves and fruits are anthelmintic. Green fruits and bark astringent in dysentery and diarrhea (De Pauda et al., 1987).
CULTIVATION:
Occurs in wet zone home gardens of Sri Lanka. Propagated by seeds. In a season a tree bears 100-150 fruits and the weight of each fruit is about 400-700 g.
