Trees to 10 m tall, evergreen. Bark rugose. Petiole short; leaf blade obovate-oblong to ovate-elliptic, 5-18 × 2-7 cm, papery, abaxially greenish and glabrous, adaxially green and shiny, secondary veins 6-13 on each side of midvein and slightly prominent on both surfaces, base broadly cuneate to rounded, apex acute to obtuse. Inflorescences axillary, 1- or 2-flowered. Flowers ca. 3.8 cm in diam. Pedicel 0.5-2.5 cm, pubescent. Sepals ovate-elliptic to ovate-triangular, 3-5 mm. Petals green, later yellowish, inside basally without a red spot; outer petals thick, broadly triangular, 2.5-5 × 2-4 cm, inside finely pubescent, apex acute to obtuse; inner petals ovate-elliptic, 2-4 × 1.5-3.5 cm, slightly thin, imbricate, pubescent, base clawed, apex obtuse. Stamens 4-5 mm; filaments fleshy; connectives apically dilated. Carpels ca. 5 mm, pubescent. Syncarp green, ovoid and often oblique or curved, 10-35 × 7-15 cm, covered with soft prickles, base impressed, apex rounded; pulp white. Seeds brownish yellow, reniform, ca. 2 × 1 cm. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. Jul-Dec. 2n = 14, 16.

The fruit, soursop, is the largest among Annona species. It is eaten raw, used in sherbets, and used in drinks. The pulp is also consumed with wine or cognac.

Widely cultivated; 100-400 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [native to tropical America].