Annona muricata L.

Tree

Annona species are evergreen trees. Bark dark brown, fissured. Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, coriaceous, glabrous, glaucous or slightly pubescent beneath. Flowers bisexual, terminal or leaf opposed, solitary or in fascicles, Sepals 3, valvate, Petals 3 or 6, valvate, much larger than the sepals, outer whorl fleshy and triquetrous above with a thinner concave base, inner whorl if present very small, strap shaped. Stamens numerous, anthers narrow, ovoid, dorsal at the top of connectives. Carpels many, subconnate, ovule 1 basal, erect, style oblong, carpels partly free in flower, later confluent into large syncarpous fleshy fruit, 1 ovuled, Seed with fleshy albumen.

Annona species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: April-October.

Seeds dispersed by barochory i.e., gravitational dispersal, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Tree about 5-10 m tall. Bark dark brown, corky and fissured, branchlets subglabrous grayish brown with dark circular dots. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 10-16 x 3-6 cm across, base acute, margin entire, apex acute, shallow acuminate or obtuse with mucronate tip, coriaceous, dark green, shining glabrous above, paler glaucous beneath, lateral veins 9-14 on either side of the midrib, almost parallel, impressed above, prominent on the midrib beneath, reticulate veinlets fine and close, petiole pubescent, about 0.5-1 cm long. Flowers bisexual, axillary, solitary, subcapitate, about 6-8 cm across, pedicels slender, stout, about 1-1.5 cm long. Sepals 3, ovate, apex acute or connate into a 3 angled shallow cup, thick, greenish when young yellow when mature outside and yellow, glabrous inside, about 3-5 x 5-6 cm long. Petals 6, subequal, ovate, apex acute, thick, glabrous, yellow outside and inside, about 3-3.5 x 2-2.5 cm long cm across, inner petals 1.5 x 1 cm squamose. Stamens numerous, linear, about 4-5 mm long, filaments fleshy, broad at the base, with apically capitates top of the connective. Carpels many, linear oblong, slightly curved, about 4 mm long, style broad at the base, stigma sessile, entire. Ripe carpels, broadly subglobose or ellipsoid in fruit, muricate, green, warty covered with long curved spines, slightly arolate with white pulp, about 8-10 cm in long, puberulous, stalk stout, about 2-3 cm long, Seeds many, dark brown or reddish brown, slightly flattened.

Susceptible to insect pests.

Cultivated

Native to tropical America, cultivated in India.

Tender bark used as purgative. Flowers and leaves used as medicine for kidney problems. Widely cultivated for the fruit. Phytochemical and pharmacological studies show it is potential cytotoxic, antileishmanial, wound healing and anti-microbial.