Annona muricata is a member of the family of Custard apple trees called
AnnonaceaeAnnonaceae family, also called custard apple familyis a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs or rarely woody lianas.With about 2300 to 2500 species and more than 130 genera,...
and a species of the genus
AnnonaAnnona is the second largest genus, after Guatteria, in the plant family Annonaceae, containing approximately 110 species of mostly Neotropical and Afrotropical trees and shrubs. The name derives from the Taíno annon...
known mostly for its edible fruits Anona.
Annona muricata produces fruits that are usually called
SoursopThe soursop The soursop The soursop (Spanish guanábana, Portuguese graviola, Annona muricata; syn. A. sericea Dunal
in Correia, M. P., (1984), A. macrocarpa Wercklé, A. bonplandiana H.B. & K., A. cearensis Barb.Rodr., A...
due to its slightly acidic taste when ripe.
A. muricata trees grew natively in the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
and
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
but are now widely cultivated and in some areas, escaping and living on their own in tropical climates throughout the world.
Annona muricata is a small, upright,
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
that can grow to about tall and cannot stand frost.
Stems and leaves: The young branches are hairy.
Discussion
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Annona muricata is a member of the family of Custard apple trees called
AnnonaceaeAnnonaceae family, also called custard apple familyis a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs or rarely woody lianas.With about 2300 to 2500 species and more than 130 genera,...
and a species of the genus
AnnonaAnnona is the second largest genus, after Guatteria, in the plant family Annonaceae, containing approximately 110 species of mostly Neotropical and Afrotropical trees and shrubs. The name derives from the Taíno annon...
known mostly for its edible fruits Anona.
Annona muricata produces fruits that are usually called
SoursopThe soursop The soursop The soursop (Spanish guanábana, Portuguese graviola, Annona muricata; syn. A. sericea Dunal
in Correia, M. P., (1984), A. macrocarpa Wercklé, A. bonplandiana H.B. & K., A. cearensis Barb.Rodr., A...
due to its slightly acidic taste when ripe.
A. muricata trees grew natively in the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
and
Central AmericaManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
but are now widely cultivated and in some areas, escaping and living on their own in tropical climates throughout the world.
Description
Annona muricata is a small, upright,
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
that can grow to about tall and cannot stand frost.
Stems and leaves: The young branches are hairy.
- Leaves are oblong to oval, to long and to wide. Glossy dark green with no hairs above, paler and minutely hairy to no hairs below.
- The leaf stalks are to long and without hairs.
Flowers: Flower stalks (peduncles) are to long and woody. They appear opposite from the leaves or as an extra from near the leaf stalk, each with one or two flowers, occasionally a third.
- Stalks for the individual flowers (pedicels) are stout and woody, minutely hairy to hairless and to with small bractlets nearer to the base which are densely hairy.
- Petals are thick and yellowish. Outer petals meet at the edges without overlapping and are broadly ovate, to by to , tapering to a point with a heart shaped base. Evenly thick, covered with long, slender, soft hairs externally and matted finely with soft hairs within. Inner petals are oval shaped and overlap. to by . Sharply angled and tapering at the base. Margins are comparatively thin, with fine matted soft hairs on both sides. The receptacle is conical and hairy. Stamens long and narrowly wedge-shaped. The connective-tip terminate abruptly and anther hollows are unequal. Sepals are quite thick and do not overlap. Carpels are linear and basally growing from one base. The ovaries are covered with dense reddish brown hairs, 1-ovuled, style short and stigma truncate.
Fruits and reproduction: Dark green, prickly (or bristled) fruits are egg-shaped and can be up to long, with a moderately firm texture. Flesh is juicy, acid, whitish and aromatic.
- Abundant seeds the average weight of 1000 fresh seeds is and had an average oil content of 24%. When dried for 3 days in the average seed weight was and were tolerant of the moisture extraction; showing no problems for long-term storage under reasonable conditions.
Distribution
Annona muricata is tolerant of poor soil and prefers lowland areas between the altitudes of to .
Native
- Neotropic
In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical zone is one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones. This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups.It is...
:
- Caribbean: Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
, JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Trinidad and TobagoThe Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the...
- Central America: Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
, El SalvadorEl Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as does Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 5.7 million people as of 2009 on...
, GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
, HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
, MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
, PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
- South America: Bolivia
Bolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
, ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
, VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
, EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...