Almost all species are trees, some Annona species and one extralimital Guatteria are lianas, or shrubs; bearing essential oils; resinous, or not resinous. Self supporting, or climbing; when climbing, scrambling, or stem twiners, or petiole twiners. Leaves evergreen; alternate; distichous; non-sheathing; gland-dotted, or not gland-dotted; aromatic, or without marked odour; simple. Lamina entire; pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire. Domatia recorded (in 3 genera); represented by pockets (usually), or hair tufts (in 1/12 species).
Distribution
Pantropical, with only a few families reaching in into temperates zones
Floral characters
Flowers solitary, or aggregated in ‘inflorescences’. The terminal inflorescence unit racemose. Flowers regular; cyclic, or partially acyclic. Sometimes the androecium acyclic (spiralled). Free hypanthium absent. Hypogynous disk present. Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla (usually P3+3+3, with the outer one or two whorls sepaloid); usually 9; usually 3 whorled; isomerous. Calyx 3, or 6; usually 2 whorled; polysepalous; valvate, or open in bud. Corolla 3; 1–2 whorled; polypetalous; imbricate, or valvate. Usually pollinated by beetles. Androecium usually 25–100 (i.e. ‘many’). Androecial members when many, maturing centripetally; free of the perianth; all equal; free of one another; rarely 3 whorled, or 6 whorled (otherwise spiralled). Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens (usually), or including staminodes (e.g. in Uvaria spp., where the outer members may be imperfect). Staminodes when present, external to the fertile stamens; non-petaloid. Stamens 25–100 (‘many’). Anthers adnate; non-versatile; dehiscing via longitudinal slits, or dehiscing by longitudinal valves; extrorse; tetrasporangiate; appendaged (via expansion of the connective). Endothecium developing fibrous thickenings. Microsporogenesis successive, or simultaneous. The initial microspore tetrads tetrahedral, or isobilateral, or decussate. Anther wall initially with more than one middle layer; of the ‘dicot’ type. Tapetum glandular. Pollen monosiphonous; shed in aggregates (5 genera), or shed as single grains; when aggregated, in tetrads (usually), or in polyads (octads in Trigynaea). Pollen grains aperturate (usually), or nonaperturate; 1 aperturate (mostly), or 2 aperturate; (mono) sulcate (mostly, occasionally with two parallel furrows at the equator), or ulcerate (rarely); 2-celled. Gynoecium usually 10–100 carpelled (or more — i.e. ‘many’). The pistil when syncarpous, 1 celled, or 2–15 celled (or more?). Gynoecium apocarpous (usually), or syncarpous (rarely); eu-apocarpous (the carpels spiralled or cyclic), or synstylovarious to eu-syncarpous (e.g. Monodora); superior. Carpel 1–10 ovuled. Placentation of free carpels basal. Ovary when syncarpous 1 locular, or 2–15 locular (or more — i.e. ‘multilocular’). Stigmas wet type; papillate; Group III type. Placentation when unilocular parietal, or basal; when plurilocular basal. Ovules in the single cavity when unilocular, 1–50; 10–50 per locule (i.e. ‘many’); ascending; apotropous; with ventral raphe; arillate, or non-arillate; anatropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Outer integument not contributing to the micropyle. Endothelium not differentiated. Embryo-sac development Polygonum-type. Polar nuclei fusing prior to fertilization, or fusing only after one has been fertilized (?). Antipodal cells formed; 3; not proliferating; ephemeral. Synergids pear-shaped. Hypostase present, or absent. Endosperm formation cellular.
Leaf characters
leaves simple and alternate; 2-ranked leaves (except Tetrameranthus)Leaves evergreen; alternate; distichous; non-sheathing; gland-dotted, or not gland-dotted; aromatic, or without marked odour; simple. Lamina entire;pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves exstipulate. Lamina margins entire. Domatia recorded (in 3 genera); represented by pockets (usually), or hair tufts (in 1/12 species). Leaf anatomy. Abaxial epidermis papillose, or not papillose. Stomata paracytic.Adaxial hypodermis absent. Lamina dorsiventral; with secretory cavities, or without secretory cavities. Secretory cavities containing oil, or containing mucilage, or containing resin. The mesophyll usually with spherical etherial oil cells (?); containing mucilage cells, or not containing mucilage cells; with sclerencymatous idioblasts, or without sclerenchymatous idioblasts. Main veins vertically transcurrent. Minor leaf veins without phloem transfer cells (Annona).
Stipules
present
Fruit characters
fleshy; an aggregate (commonly an aggregate of berries). The fruiting carpels coalescing into a secondary syncarp, or not coalescing. The fruiting carpel indehiscent; baccate. Seeds endospermic. Endosperm ruminate (by contrast with Magnoliaceae); oily. Seeds with amyloid. Embryo achlorophyllous (4/5).
Latex
present in Unonopsis and Oxandra: trace of red latex;
Uses
Important commercial fruits from Annona spp. (atemoya, cherimoya, custard-apple, ilarma, sugar-apple, sweet sop, sour sop), Artabotrys.
Chemical characters
Cyanogenic, or not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present (commonly), or absent. Iridoids not detected. Proanthocyanidins present, or absent; when present, cyanidin. Flavonols present, or absent; when present, quercetin. Ellagic acid absent (2 genera, 3 species). Arbutin absent. Sugars transported as sucrose (usually), or as oligosaccharides + sucrose (Annona squamosa). Anatomy non-C4 type (Annona).
Distribution maps
(online von http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ . Dort zitiert wie unter jedem Diagramm vermerkt):
