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Annona muricata
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Family:
ANNONACEAE
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Citation: Annona muricata L., Sp. Pl. 536. 1753; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 27. 1982; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 59. 1989; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 3. 1990; Debika Mitra in B. D. Sharma et al., Fl. India 1: 206. 1993; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 45. 1997; M. Mohanan in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 136. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 72. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 103. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Cancer chakka, Mullanjakka, Mulluathi, Mullathi
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Soursop, Guanabana, Graviola, Prickly Custard Apple
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Description:
Trees, to 10 m high, bark pale brown; young twigs glabrescent. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous, estipulate; petiole 4-8 mm long, slender, glabrous, grooved above; lamina 7-14.5 x 3-5.5 cm, elliptic, oblong, obovate, oblong-obovate, elliptic-oblong or elliptic-obovate, base acute, apex acute to acuminate, coriaceous, margin entire, lateral veins 8-10 pairs, slender, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate, domatia present. Flowers yellowish-green, solitary, axillary or from mature branches; sepals 3, triangular, persistent; petals 6(3+3) ovate-acute, yellow, thick, glabrous, outer ones 2.5-3.5 x 2-2.5 cm, base cordate, apex acuminate, inner petals ca. 1.5 x 1 cm, shortly stipitate; stamens many, 4-5 mm long, linear, filaments broad at base, with capitate top of the connective; ovary superior, ca. 4 mm long, linear, slightly curved, strigose, style broad at base, stigma entire. Fruit ovoid to obovoid, 15-25 x 10-15 cm, green, covered with curved spines, stalks 2-3 cm long, stout; seeds many, reddish-brown, ca. 1.5 cm long.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
April-October
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Cultivated
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Distribution:
Native of Central America and West Indies, introduced elsewhere
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Creamy
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
Yes
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Kayamkulam
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