dark brown to black, long seed. Chemistry The diterpenoid alkaloid atisine is the most abundant alkaloid in the root. Other constituents of Annona squamosa include the alkaloids oxophoebine, reticuline, isocorydine, and methylcorydaldine, and the flavonoid quercetin-3-O-glucoside. Bayer AG has patented the extraction process and molecular identity of the annonaceous acetogenin annonin, as well as its use as a biopesticide. Other acetogenins have been isolated from the seeds, bark, and leaves. Distribution and habitat Annona squamosa is native to the tropical Americas and West Indies, but the exact origin is unknown. It is now the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown for its fruit throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and China as far north as Suzhou; it was introduced to southern Asia before 1590. It is naturalized as far north as southern Florida in the United States and as south as Bahia in Brazil, Bangladesh, and is an invasive species in some areas. Native Neotropic Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Virgin Islands. Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala Northern South America: Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela Western South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Southern South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay Current (naturalized and native) Neotropic Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Florida, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Virgin Islands. Pacific: Samoa, Tonga North America: Mexico Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama Northern South America: French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela Western South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Southern South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay Afrotropic: Angola, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar, Kenya Australasia: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands Indomalaya: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam Palearctic: Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, Malta, Israel Climate and cultivation Like most species of Annona, it requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from to , and mean winter temperatures above . It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below and killed by temperatures of a couple of degrees below freezing. It is