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Annona
muricata L.
Synonym : Annona macrocarpa Wercklé
Family
: Annonaceae
Local Names
: Cancer chakka, Mullathi,
Soursop
Flowering
and fruiting period:
April – October
Distribution: Native of Central America and West Indies,
introduced elsewhere
Habitat: Cultivated
IUCN
status:
Least concern
Endemic:
No
Uses: Fruits edible, anti-cancerous. Extraction from leaves is lethal to head
lice and bedbugs. When grinded, the seeds are effective pesticides against head
lice. The juice of the fruit is said to be able to increase the amount of
urine, and treat urethritis and haematuria. Immature fruits are grinded and
decocted as a treat for dysentery.
Key
Characters:
Trees, to 10 m high, bark pale brown;
young twigs glabrescent. Leaves simple, alternate; lamina elliptic, oblong,
margin entire. Flowers yellowish-green; sepals 3, triangular, persistent;
petals 6(3+3) ovate-acute, yellow; stamens many, filaments broad at base, with
capitate
