Annonaceae

The Annonaceae are a family, the custard apple family, of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas. With 2106 accepted species and more than 130 genera, it is the largest family in Magnoliales. Several genera produce edible fruit, most notably Annona, Anonidium, Asimina, Rollinia, and Uvaria. Its type genus is Annona. The family is concentrated in the tropics, with few species found in temperate regions. About 900 species are Neotropical, 450 are Afrotropical, and the other species Indomalayan.

Compared to the species from the Neotropics, very little is known about many species from Indomalaya. Only a few attempts have been made for the phylogeny-based reclassification of the family, and those have been hampered by the Neotropic bias in the available information, with the most of the work having been done on genera and tribes.

Description

Mostly tropical, some mid-latitude, deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, some lianas, with aromatic bark, leaves, and flowers.