Nom. Vulg.—Ates, Tag.; Custard Apple, Eng.
Uses.—The fruit of the mature ates is edible and is one of the most delicious that grows in the Philippines; its white and delicately perfumed pulp has a delicious flavor. The unripe fruit is exceedingly astringent. The fermented juice of the ripe pulp is used in certain parts of America to prepare a popular drink. The powdered seeds make a useful parasiticide especially when used on the scalp, but it is necessary to avoid getting any of the drug in the eyes on account of its irritant effect.
Botanical Description.—Tree 8 or 9° high with leaves alternate, oblong, the edges pubescent. Flowers greenish-yellow, axillary, solitary; peduncle not curved. Petals 6, convergent. Stamens crowded, indefinite. Fruit fleshy, covered with scales or rather rounded tubercles; beneath is the white and fragment pulp, covering the long-oval seeds.
A. reticulate, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Anonas, Sp.-Fil.
Uses.—The fruit of this species is neither as much prized nor as abundant in the Philippines as that of the ates. When unripe it possesses the same properties as the latter. The large proportion of tannin which both species contain in their unripe state, makes them very useful in treating diarrhœa and dysentery. They are administered in the form of a decoction, by enema. The sap of the trunk is very irritating. The roots are used by the American Indians to treat epilepsy. Lemon juice is the antidote for the sap of this species.
I wish to call attention to the similarity of the common name of this plant to another entirely distinct species commonly used in the Tagalo therapeutics; namely, the anonag̃ (Cordia), with which it must not be confused.
Botanical Description.—Tree 10° high with leaves lanceolate, pubescent. Flowers in a sort of umbel. Corolla like that of A. squamosa. Fruit without the plainly visible tubercles of the foregoing species, their presence being merely suggested by a sort of net traced on the surface.
A. muricata, L.
Nom. Vulg.—Guanábano, Goyabano, Sp.-Fil.