''Annona'' or Anona (from

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

''annon'') is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the pawpaw/ sugar apple family,

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

. It is the second largest genus in the family after '' Guatteria'', containing approximately 166Species of Annona
on

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant specie ...

. Retrieved 2013-05-28. species of mostly

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

and

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s. The generic name derives from ''anón'', a

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

word for the fruit. Paleoethnobotanical studies have dated ''Annona'' exploitation and cultivation in the Yautepec River region of Mexico to approximately 1000 BC. Plants of the genus have several common names, including sugar-apple, soursop, anona, cherimoya and guanábana. Currently, seven ''Annona''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

( A. cherimola, A. muricata, A. squamosa, A. reticulata, A. senegalensis, A. scleroderma, A. purpurea) and one hybrid (the atemoya) are cultivated for domestic or commercial use, mostly for the edible and nutritious fruits; several others such as A. crassiflora and A. salzmannii also produce edible fruits. Many of the species are used in traditional medicines for the treatment of a variety of diseases, though their efficacy has yet to be validated scientifically. Several annonaceous species have been found to contain acetogenins, a class of natural compounds with a wide variety of biological activities. The first complete genome for a species in this genus (''

Annona muricata Soursop (also called graviola, guyabano, and in Latin America ) is the fruit of ''Annona muricata'', a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is widely propagated. It ...

'') was published in 2021. The earliest fossils have been found in the Lance Formation dating to the Late Cretaceous.

Description

''Annona'' species are

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

ed,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

or semi

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

s or

s. The plants typically grow in areas where air temperature does not drop below , especially

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

(southern Italy). However, they have also been known to grow in certain parts of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

mountains in South America and in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The woody trunks have thin bark that has broad and shallow depressions or fissures which join together and are scaly, giving rise to slender, stiff, cylindrical, and tapering shoots with raised pores and naked buds. Leaf blades can be leathery or thin and rather soft or pliable, bald or hairy. The flowering stalks rise from axils, or occasionally from axillary buds on main stems or older stems, or as solitary flowers or small bundles of flowers. Usually, the three or four deciduous

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are smaller than the outer

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s that do not overlap while in bud. Six to eight fleshy petals are arranged in two whorls—the petals of the outer whorl are larger and do not overlap; inner petals are ascending and distinctively smaller, and nectar glands are darker pigmented. The numerous

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are ball-shaped, club-shaped, or curved and hooded or pointed beyond anther sac. Numerous

pistils Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

, attached directly to the base, are partially united to various degrees with a distinct stigma, with one or two ovules per pistil; the style and stigma are club-shaped or narrowly conic. One fleshy, ovate to spherical

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is produced per flower. Each fruit consists of many individual small fruits or syncarps, with one syncarp and

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

per pistil. Seeds are

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

-like with tough coats; the seed kernels are toxic. Pollination occurs via Dynastid scarab beetles, which appear to be basic generalists within the genus ''Annona''. Those species of ''Annona'' which are more morphologically derived, as well as all ''

Rollinia ''Rollinia'' is a genus of plants in the family Annonaceae. While it is widely recognised as a distinct genus a monograph published in 2006 advocates its inclusion in ''Annona'',Rainer, H. (2006)Monographic studies in the genus ''Annona'' L. (Ann ...

'' spp., possess reduced floral chambers and attract small beetles such as

Nitidulidae The sap beetles, also known as Nitidulidae, are a family of beetles. They are small (2–6 mm) ovoid, usually dull-coloured beetles, with knobbed antennae. Some have red or yellow spots or bands. They feed mainly on decaying vegetable ma ...

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (biology), family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousand ...

Toxicology

The compound annonacin and dozens of other acetogenins contained in the seeds and fruit of some members of Annonaceae such as ''

'' (soursop) are

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...

s and seem to be the cause of a Parkinson-like neurodegenerative disease. The only group of people known to be affected by this disease live on the Caribbean island of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and the problem presumably occurs with the consumption of plants containing annonacin. The disorder is a so-called tauopathy associated with a pathologic accumulation of tau protein in the brain. Experimental results published in 2007 demonstrated for the first time that the plant neurotoxin annonacin is responsible for this accumulation.

Selected species

There are 169 accepted ''Annona'' species, as of April 2021, according to

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

. *'' Annona acuminata'' *'' Annona acutiflora'' *'' Annona ambotay'' *'' Annona angustifolia'' *'' Annona asplundiana'' *'' Annona atabapensis'' *'' Annona aurantiaca'' *'' Annona bullata'' *'' Annona cacans'' – araticum-cagão *'' Annona cascarilloides'' *'' Annona cherimola'' – cherimoya *'' Annona chrysophylla'' – graines *'' Annona conica'' *'' Annona cordifolia'' *'' Annona coriacea'' *'' Annona cornifolia'' *'' Annona crassiflora'' – araticum do cerrado, marolo *'' Annona crassivenia'' *'' Annona cristalensis'' *'' Annona cubensis'' *'' Annona deceptrix'' *'' Annona deminuta'' *'' Annona dioica'' *'' Annona diversifolia'' *'' Annona dolichophylla'' *'' Annona ecuadorensis'' *'' Annona ekmanii'' *'' Annona foetida'' *'' Annona fosteri'' *'' Annona glabra'' – pond apple, alligator apple, monkey apple *'' Annona globiflora'' *'' Annona haematantha'' *'' Annona haitiensis'' *'' Annona hypoglauca'' *'' Annona hystricoides'' *'' Annona jahnii'' *'' Annona jamaicensis'' *'' Annona longiflora'' *'' Annona macrocarpa'' auct. *'' Annona macroprophyllata'' *'' Annona manabiensis'' *'' Annona moaensis'' *'' Annona montana'' Macfad. – mountain soursop *''

'' – soursop, graviola *'' Annona nitida'' *'' Annona nutans'' *'' Annona oligocarpa'' *'' Annona paludosa'' *'' Annona papilionella'' *'' Annona pittieri'' *'' Annona praetermissa'' *'' Annona purpurea'' – soncoya *'' Annona reticulata'' – custard apple, bullock's heart *'' Annona rigida'' *'' Annona rosei'' *'' Annona salzmannii'' – beach sugar apple *'' Annona scleroderma'' – poshe-te, cawesh, wild red custard apple *'' Annona sclerophylla'' *'' Annona senegalensis'' – African custard apple *'' Annona sericea'' *'' Annona spraguei'' *'' Annona squamosa'' – sugar apple, sweetsop *'' Annona stenophylla'' *'' Annona tenuiflora'' *'' Annona tomentosa'' *'' Annona trunciflora''

Hybrids

*'' Annona × atemoya'' – atemoya

Insects and diseases

''Annona'' species are generally disease-free. They are susceptible to some fungi and wilt. Ants may also be a problem, since they promote mealybugs on the fruit. ;Insects *'' Braephratiloides cubense'' (annona seed borer) *'' Bepratelloides cubense'' (annona seed borer) *'' Morganella longispina'' (plumose scale) *'' Philephedra'' n.sp. (Philephedra scale) *'' Pseudococcus'' sp. (mealybugs) *'' Xyleborus'' sp. (ambrosia beetles) *'' Ammiscus polygrophoides'' *'' Anastrepha atrox'' *'' Anastrepha barandianae'' *'' Anastrepha bistrigata'' *'' Anastrepha chiclayae'' *'' Anastrepha disticta'' *'' Anastrepha extensa'' *'' Anastrepha fraterculus'' *'' Anastrepha oblicua'' *'' Anastrepha serpentina'' *'' Anastrepha striata'' *'' Anastrepha suspensa'' *'' Apate monachus'' *'' Bactrocera'' spp. *'' Bephrata maculicollis'' *'' Brevipalpus'' spp. *'' Ceratitis capitata'' *'' Cerconota anonella'' *''

Coccoidea Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

'' spp. *'' Coccus viridis'' (green scale) *'' Emanadia flavipennis'' *'' Gelwchiidae'' spp. *'' Heliothrips haemorphoidalis'' *'' Leosynodes elegantales'' *'' Lyonetia'' spp. *'' Oiketicus kirby'' *'' Orthezia olivicola'' *'' Phyllocnistis'' spp. *'' Pinnaspis aspidistrae'' *'' Planococcus citri'' *'' Saissetia nigra'' *'' Talponia'' spp. *'' Tenuipalpidae'' *'' Tetranynchus'' spp. *''

Thrips Thrips (Order (biology) , order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Entomologists have species description , described approximately 7,700 species. They fly on ...

'' ---- ;Fungi *'' Armillaria'' (oak root fungus) *'' Ascochyta cherimolaer'' *'' Athelia rolfsii'' *'' Botryodiplodia theobromae'' *'' Cercospora annonaceae'' *'' Cladosporium carpophilum'' *'' Colletotrichium'' spp *'' Colletotrichium annonicola'' *'' Colletotrichum gloeosporioides'' *'' Diplodia natalensis'' (dry fruit rot) *'' Erythricium salmonicolor'' *'' Fumagina'' spp *'' Fusarium solani'' *'' Gloeosporium'' spp *'' Glomerella cingulata'' *'' Isariopsis anonarum'' *'' Monilia'' spp *'' Nectria episphaeria'' *'' Oidium'' spp *'' Phakopsora cherimolae'' *'' Phomopsis'' spp *'' Phomopsis annonacearum'' *'' Phyllosticta'' spp *'' Phythium'' spp *'' Phytophtora palmivora'' *'' Phytophtora parasitica'' *'' Rhizoctonia noxia'' *'' Rhizoctonia solani'' *'' Rhizoctonia'' spp *'' Rhizopus nigricans'' *'' Rhizopus stolonifer'' *'' Salssetia oleare'' *'' Uredo cherimola'' *'' Verticillium'' spp (wilt) *'' Zignoella annonicola'' ---- ;Nematodes *'' Cephalobidae'' spp. *'' Dorylaimidae'' spp. *'' Gracilacus'' spp. *'' Helicotylenchus'' spp. *'' Hemicycliophora'' spp. *'' Hoplolaimidae'' spp. *''

Meloidogyne incognita ''Meloidogyne incognita'' (root-knot nematode, RKN), also known as the southern root-nematode or cotton root-knot nematode is a plant-parasitic roundworm in the family Heteroderidae. This nematode is one of the four most common species worldwid ...

'' spp. *'' Pratylenchus'' spp. *'' Paratylenchus micoletzky. Rhabditis'' spp. *'' Tylenchorhynchus'' spp. *'' Xiphinema americanum'' ---- ;Algae *'' Cephaleuros virescens'' *'' Cephalosporium'' spp. *'' Paecilomyces'' spp. ---- ;Diseases *Fruit rot

References

External links

* *
Type Collections of Neotropical Annonaceae – ''Annona'' – has pictures and details on these and other ''Annona'' species

Images

File:Atemola (cross of Annona cherimola and Annona squamosa).jpg, Atemoya (''A. cherimola × A. squamosa'') File:Cherimoya plantage hg.jpg, Cherimoya (''A. cherimola'') plantation File:Annona muricata-guanábana.jpg, Soursop ('' A. muricata'') File:Sugar-apples 5, Taitung County, Dec 06.JPG, Sugar apples ('' A. squamosa'') File:Anona-custard-apple-inside1.jpg, Sugar apple ('' A. squamosa'') interior File:Anona-custard-apple-inside2.jpg, Sugar apple interior File:Anona-custard-apple-outside.jpg, Sugar apple exterior File:Annona_muricata2.jpg, ''Annona muricata'' File:Araticum 3.jpg, ''A. crassiflora'' fruit File:Annona salzmannii27.JPG, The fruit of ''A. salzmannii'' File:Annona squamosa (Custurd Apple) flower in Hyderabad W IMG 7408.jpg, '' Annona squamosa'' flower and leaves in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

File:Annona glabra fl.jpg, '' Annona glabra'' fruit. File:Annona cherimola fruit, Pedra Bela, Brazil.jpg, '' Annona cherimola'' fruit, Pedra Bela, Brazil File:Halved annona fruit.JPG, Halved annona fruit File:Annona fruit.JPG, ''Annona'' tree, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico File:Anonna fruit.JPG, ''Annona'' fruit {{Taxonbar, from=Q275737 Tropical fruit Annonaceae genera