uh-NO-nuh -- Latinized form of the American Indian
taino, vernacular name for
cherimoya ...
Dave's Botanary
skwa-MO-suh -- scaly ...
Dave's Botanary
commonly known as: custard apple, sugar apple, sweetsop • Angika: सरीफा sarifa • Arabic: شريفه sharifa • Assamese: আতা-কঁঠাল ata kothal, আতা-ফল ata-phol, আঠে-ফল athe-phol, আতলচ atlos • Bengali: আতা ata • Gujarati: સીતાફળ sitaphal • Hajong: আতা-ফল ata-phol • Haryanvi: शरीफा sharifa • Hindi: आता ata, बहुवीज bahu-vij, मुक्ताफल muktaphal, शरीफ़ा sharifa, सीताफल sitaphal • Kachchhi: સીતાફળ sitaphal • Kannada: ಅಮೃತಫಲ amrutaphala, ಸೀತಾಫಲ seetaphala • Kokborok: আতা ata • Kol: मंडल mandal, नेनवा nenwa • Konkani: आत aat, ಅಂದಣಿರೂಕು andaniruku, सिताफळ sitaphal • Lodhi: बोरोर-दारू boror-daru • Magadhi: सरीफा sarifa • Maithili: शरिफा sharifa • Malayalam: ആത്തച്ചക്ക aathachakka, സീതപ്പഴം seethapazham • Manipuri: ꯑꯥꯇꯥꯐꯜ ataphal • Marathi: आत ata, मुक्ताफल muktaphala, सीताफळ sitaphal • Mizo: thei chini, theiarbawn • Nepali: आँट् aant, सरिफा sariphaa • Odia: ଅମୃତଫଳ amrutaphala, ଆତ ata, ବହୁବୀଜ bahubija, ଲବନୀ labani, ମେଘୁଆ meghua, ମୁକ୍ତା ଫଳ mukta phaḻa, ସିତା ଫଳ sita phala • Pahari: शीतलफल sheetalphal • Persian: شريفه sharifa • Punjabi: ਸ਼ਰੀਫਾ sharifa, ਸੀਤਾ ਫਲ sita phal • Rajasthani: इन्दूरा indura, सीताफल sitaphal • Sanskrit: आतृप्यम् atrupyum, बहुबीजम् bahubijam, मुक्ताफलम् muktaphalam, सीताफलम् sitaphalam • Santali: ᱢᱟᱱᱫᱟᱨᱜᱚᱢ mandargom, ᱢᱚᱱᱰᱟᱞ mondal, ᱱᱮᱣᱟ newa, ᱥᱟᱨᱯᱷᱟ sarpha • Sindhi: سيتاڦَلُ sitaphalu • Tamil: ஆத்தா atta, சீத்தா citta, சீத்தாப்பழம் seethapazham • Telugu: గండ గాత్రము ganda gaathramu, సీతపండు seethapandu, సీతాఫలం seethaphalamu • Tulu: ಅಮ್ರತಕಾಯಿ amrutakaayi, ಶೀತಾಫಲ shitaphala • Urdu: آتا ata, بہوبیج bahu-beej, مکتاپھل muktaphal, سیتاپھل sitaphal
botanical names:
Annona squamosa L. ...
heterotypic synonyms listed in
POWO, retrieved 15 May 2026
The Tug-of-Name: Annona versus Anona ... compiled from web
The genus name for the custard apple is frequently spelled with a single "n" as Anona, rather than the modern Annona. This minor spelling difference actually points to a massive, centuries-long "tug-of-name" between traditional botanists and the father of modern taxonomy himself, Carl Linnaeus.
Originally, Spanish explorers in the Caribbean adopted the local Hispaniolan Taíno indigenous word for the fruit: anón. Early naturalists simply latinized this directly into Anona. For decades, European scientists kept this spelling to honor the fruit's true geographic home. Linnaeus notoriously disliked using non-classical, indigenous words for scientific names. When he formalized the plant's classification, he deliberately added a second "n", transforming it into Annona. For nearly two centuries, a linguistic tug-of-war played out in global botanical literature. The modern international botanical codes finally stepped in, standardising the spelling to Linnaeus's Annona for global consistency.
Bibliography / etymology / notes
Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. The bits about the
languages of India mentioned below are merely some bare facts gathered from the internet; just enough to satisfy curiosity about "where" could the listed names be best prevalent in India. All English transliterated names to be taken
sensu amplo.
~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~
written and spoken widely, in most parts of India
custard apple
- The name "custard apple" for Annona squamosa in India stems from a mix of colonial history. During the British Raj, English officials and settlers encountered various fruits belonging to the Annona family (A. squamosa, A. reticulata, and A. cherimola). The British used "custard apple" simply to describe any sweet, apple-sized tropical fruit with a creamy, custard-like texture. Over generations of English-medium education and administrative use in India, this descriptive colonial English name stuck and eventually became the primary English translation used by locals, merchants, Indian Floras, textbooks and even dictionaries. ... compiled from web.
- Candrakānta abhidhāna : Asamiyi sabdara butpatti aru udaharanere Asamiya-Ingraji dui bhashara artha thaka abhidhana. 2nd ed. Guwahati : Guwahati Bisbabidyalaya, 1962.
- PRAIN, DAVID - BENGAL PLANTS - VOL. I
- Platts, John T. (John Thompson). A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English. London: W. H. Allen & Co., 1884.
- Kittel, Ferdinand. Kittel's Kannada-English dictionary. Rev. and enl. ed. [Madras] University of Madras, 1968-1971.
- Gundert, Hermann. A Malayalam and English dictionary. Mangalore, London, C. Stolz; Trübner & Co., 1872.
- Molesworth, J. T. (James Thomas). A dictionary, Marathi and English. 2d ed., rev. and enl. Bombay: Printed for government at the Bombay Education Society's press, 1857.
- Praharaj, G.C. Pūrṇṇachandra Orḍiā bhāshākosha: a lexicon of the Oriya language. Cuttack: Utkal Sahitya Press, 1931-1940.
- Campbell, A., of the Santal mission A Santali-English dictionary Pokhuria, India : Santal Mission Press, 1899
- University of Madras. Tamil lexicon. [Madras], University of Madras, 1924-1936.
- Brown, Charles Philip. A Telugu-English dictionary. 2nd ed. Madras: Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1903.
- Männer, A - Tulu-English and English-Tulu dictionary - Mangalore, Basel Mission Press (1886-8)
sugar apple
sweetsop
- The historical 17th-century Caribbean name; a 300-year-old culinary metaphor coined by early English sailors and colonisers describing a fruit that felt just like sweet, soggy bread! ... compiled from web
- The word (name) is written standardly as a single compound word: "sweetsop". While historical texts from the 17th and 18th centuries sometimes broke it up or used a hyphen (like "sweet sop" or "sweet-sop"), modern dictionaries and botanical authorities have completely standardized it to sweetsop. ... compiled from web
- Encyclopaedia Britannica ... (accessed: May 15, 2026)
~~~~~ ANGIKA ~~~~~
written in: historically Anga Lipi, later Kaithi, presently Devanagari (अंगिका) ... spoken in: Bihar, Jharkhand ... other names for this language: Anga, Angikar, Chhika-Chhiki
सरीफा sarifa
- Floristic Diversity of Banka - बिहार वानिकी विकास निगम लिमिटेड (Bihar Forestry Development Corporation Limited) ... (downloaded: December 31, 2023)
- Floristic Diversity of Munger - बिहार वानिकी विकास निगम लिमिटेड (Bihar Forestry Development Corporation Limited) ... (downloaded: December 31, 2023)
~~~~~ ARABIC ~~~~~
written in:
Arabic (عَرَبِيّ) ... spoken in: various states of India ...
Wikipedia
شريفه sharifa
~~~~~ ASSAMESE ~~~~~
written in: Assamese (অসমীয়া) ... spoken in: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya
আতা-কঁঠাল ata kothal
- Flora of Assam Vol I (Part I) by U N Kanjilal, P C Kanjilal, A Das
- আতলচ-কঁঠাল aatloch kothal ... Candrakānta abhidhāna : Asamiyi sabdara butpatti aru udaharanere Asamiya-Ingraji dui bhashara artha thaka abhidhana. 2nd ed. Guwahati : Guwahati Bisbabidyalaya, 1962.
আতা-ফল ata-phol, আঠে-ফল athe-phol, আতলচ atloch
- XOBDO - Your gateway to multilingual knowledge and resources ... (accessed: May 15, 2026)
~~~~~ BENGALI ~~~~~
written in: Bengali (বাংলা) ... spoken in: West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
আতা ata
~~~~~ GUJARATI ~~~~~
written in: Gujarati (ગુજરાતી) ... spoken in: Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu
સીતાફળ sitaphal
~~~~~ HAJONG ~~~~~
written in: Bengali-Assamese (হাজং), Latin ... spoken in: Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal
আতা-ফল ata-phol
- XOBDO - Your gateway to multilingual knowledge and resources ... (accessed: May 15, 2026)
~~~~~ HARYANVI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (हरियाणवी or हरयाणवी) ... spoken in: Haryana, Delhi
शरीफा sharifa
~~~~~ HINDI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (हिन्दी) ... spoken in: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
आता ata (or अता ata or आत at), बहुवीज bahu-vij, मुक्ताफल muktaphal, सीताफल sitaphal
शरीफ़ा sharifa
~~~~~ KACHCHHI ~~~~~
written in: Gujarati (કચ્છી), Sindhi (ڪڇّي) ... spoken in: Kutch region of Gujarat
સીતાફળ sitaphal
~~~~~ KANNADA ~~~~~
written in: Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) ... spoken in: Karnataka
ಅಮೃತಫಲ amrutaphala, ಸೀತಾಫಲ seetaphala
~~~~~ KOKBOROK ~~~~~
written in: Koloma, Latin, Bengali–Assamese (ককবরক), Kokmari ... spoken in: Tripura ... other names for this language: Tripuri, Kokbarak, Tippera, Tipra, Trippera
আতা ata
- Sankaran, Murugan & Prakash, Jai & Singh, N. & Suklabaidya, A.. (2014). Wild edible fruits of Tripura. Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 5(4), 2006, pp. 302-305 ... (downloaded: May 17, 2026)
~~~~~ KOL ~~~~~
written in: Warang Chiti (or Barang Kshiti, Varang Kshiti), Devanagari ... spoken in: Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal ... spoken by: Kol people
मंडल mandal, नेनवा nenwa
~~~~~ KONKANI ~~~~~
written in:
Devanagari (कोंकणी) /
Kannada (ಕೊಂಕಣಿ) / Malayalam (കൊങ്കണി) / Perso-Arabic (کونکنی) /
Romi (
Konknni) ... spoken in: Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat
आत aat
ಅಂದಣಿರೂಕು andaniruku
सिताफळ sitaphal
~~~~~ LODHI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari ... spoken in: Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand ... spoken by: Lodha people
बोरोर-दारू boror-daru
~~~~~ MAGADHI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari, Kaithi ... spoken in: Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal ... the colloquial, everyday name used by native speakers living in Bihar is strictly Magahi.
सरीफा sarifa
- Floristic Diversity of Aurangabad - बिहार वानिकी विकास निगम लिमिटेड (Bihar Forestry Development Corporation Limited) ... (downloaded: December 31, 2023)
- Floristic Diversity of Munger - बिहार वानिकी विकास निगम लिमिटेड (Bihar Forestry Development Corporation Limited) ... (downloaded: December 31, 2023)
- Floristic Diversity of Jamui - बिहार वानिकी विकास निगम लिमिटेड (Bihar Forestry Development Corporation Limited) ... (downloaded: December 31, 2023)
- Floristic Diversity of Nawada - बिहार वानिकी विकास निगम लिमिटेड (Bihar Forestry Development Corporation Limited) ... (downloaded: December 31, 2023)
~~~~~ MAITHILI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (मैथिली) ... spoken in: Bihar, Jharkhand
शरिफा sharifa
~~~~~ MALAYALAM ~~~~~
written in: Malayalam (മലയാളം) ... spoken in: Kerala, Lakshadweep
ആത്തച്ചക്ക aathachakka
സീതപ്പഴം seethapazham
~~~~~ MANIPURI ~~~~~
written in: Meiteilon (ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ), Bengali-Assamese ... spoken in: Manipur ... other names for this language: Meetei
ꯑꯥꯇꯥꯐꯜ ataphal
~~~~~ MARATHI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (मराठी) ... spoken in: Maharashtra, Karnataka
आत ata, मुक्ताफल muktaphala, सीताफळ sitaphal (or सिताफळ sitaphal or शिताफळ shitaphal)
~~~~~ MIZO ~~~~~
written in: Latin, Bengali-Assamese ... spoken in: Mizoram ... other names for this language: Lushai, Duhlian
thei chini
theiarbawn
~~~~~ NEPALI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (नेपाली) ... spoken in: Nepal, West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim
आँट् aant, सरिफा sariphaa
~~~~~ ODIA ~~~~~
written in: Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ) ... spoken in: Odisha, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
ଅମୃତଫଳ amrutaphala, ଆତ ata, ବହୁବୀଜ bahubija, ଲବନୀ labani, ମେଘୁଆ meghua, ମୁକ୍ତା ଫଳ mukta phaḻa, ସିତା ଫଳ sita phala
~~~~~ PAHARI (or PAHADI) ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (पहाड़ी), Perso-Arabic (پہاڑی) ... variety of languages, dialects and language groups, spoken in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand
शीतलफल sheetalphal
~~~~~ PERSIAN ~~~~~
written in: Farsi (فارسی) ... almost a defunct language; spoken in: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar
شريفه sharifa
~~~~~ PUNJABI ~~~~~
written in: Gurmukhi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) ... spoken in: Punjab
ਸ਼ਰੀਫਾ sharifa, ਸੀਤਾ ਫਲ sita phal
~~~~~ RAJASTHANI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (राजस्थानी) ... spoken in: Rajasthan
इन्दूरा indura
सीताफल sitaphal
~~~~~ SANSKRIT ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (संस्कृतम्) ... used all over India by priests and scholars
आतृप्यम् atrupyum, बहुबीजम् bahubijam, मुक्ताफलम् muktaphalam, सीताफलम् sitaphalam
~~~~~ SANTALI ~~~~~
written in: Ol Chiki (ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ), Bengali (সাঁওতালী), Odia (ସାନ୍ତାଳୀ), Devanagari (सान्ताली), Roman ... spoken in: Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha
ᱢᱟᱱᱫᱟᱨᱜᱚᱢ mandargom
ᱢᱚᱱᱰᱟᱞ mondal, ᱱᱮᱣᱟ newa
ᱥᱟᱨᱯᱷᱟ sarpha
~~~~~ SINDHI ~~~~~
written in: Perso-Arabic (سِنڌِي), Gujarati (સિંધી), Devanagari (सिन्धी) ... spoken in: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan
سيتاڦَلُ sitaphalu
~~~~~ TAMIL ~~~~~
written in: Tamil (தமிழ்) ... spoken in: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
ஆத்தா atta, சீத்தா citta
- University of Madras. Tamil lexicon. [Madras], University of Madras, 1924-1936.
சீத்தாப்பழம் seethapazham
~~~~~ TELUGU ~~~~~
written in: Telugu ( తెలుగు) ... spoken in: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry
గండ గాత్రము ganda gaathramu, సీతపండు seethapandu, సీతాఫలం seethaphalamu
- Flora Andhrika - Plant Wealth of Andhra Pradesh, India ... (accessed: May 15, 2026)
~~~~~ TULU ~~~~~
written in: Tigalari (Tulu) was used for writing Vedic texts in Sanskrit, Kannada (ತುಳು), Malayalam (തുളു) ... spoken in: Karnataka, north Kerala
ಅಮ್ರತಕಾಯಿ amrutakaayi, ಶೀತಾಫಲ shitaphala
~~~~~ URDU ~~~~~
written in: Urdu (اردو) ... spoken in: Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka
آتا ata (or آت at), بہوبیج bahu-beej, مکتاپھل muktaphal, سیتاپھل sitaphal
~~~~~ KNOWN DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
introduced, widely cultivated, naturalised (in pockets): Andaman & Nicobar islands, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep islands, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
~~~~~
Created on: 20:06 15-05-2026 ¦ Last updated: 21:27 17-05-2026 (DD-MM-YYYY)
~~~~~
Annonaceae tropical "semi-evergreen" "large shrub" "small tree" "Annona squamosa" "custard apple" "sugar apple" sweetsop
