Annona purpurea Moc. & Sessé ex Dunal

 
  • Family : ANNONACEAE
    (Custard Apple Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : SITAPHAL FAMILY (सीताफल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Annonaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Annona involucrata Baill.; Annona manirote Kunth; Annona prestoei Hemsl.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Annona purpurea Moc. & Sessé ex Dunal
  • Common name : Negro head, Thorny custard apple
  • Vernacular name :
    • Perumull seetha (Tamil)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Cultivated
  • Key identification features : Small to medium-sized deciduous tree, typically reaching 6–10 m in height; Trunk usually branches low, forming a rounded and wide crown; Bark dark, with light colored spots; Leaves simple, alternate, regularly arranged along the branchlets in a single flat plane, hairy in texture; Branchlets exhibit a distinctive zig-zag pattern between each leaf node; Flowers large, strongly fragrant, conspicuous; Fruit rounded, about 15-20 cm in diameter, felt-textured brown skin, surface bears hooklike projections.
  • Flower, Fruit : March-October
  • Distribution :
    • Tamil Nadu : Chennai district, Tirupathur district, Tiruvannamalai district
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Native : Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Central Mexico to Trinidad and Ecuador
  • Literature :
    • Narasimhan, D. & Irwin, Sheeba. (2021). Flowering Plants of Tamil Nadu: A Compendium.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Annona purpurea
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Annona purpurea. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution

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