Pawpaw Tree  (Asimina triloba)     

The Pawpaw Tree is a native tree with a tropical look. Its large leaves are six to twelve inches long and half as wide, with drooping, troughed petioles. The leaves are simple, obovate or oblanceolate in shape, waxy on top, have smooth margins, and are arranged alternately along the branches. The flowers are a lurid purple to dark maroon and droop down. They are one to two inches across and have two sets of petals, three inner and three larger outer. The 'triloba' in the botanical name refers to the three lobed calyx. The flowers appear before the leaves emerge in the spring. The fruit which matures in late summer to early fall is greenish yellow with greasy, brown smudges and is two to five inches long. It tastes like banana-pear and has a custard consistency. The Pawpaw is the largest native fruit on the continental United States and is very nutritious. Each fruit contains two or three seeds, one inch long. This tree has grayish brown, smooth bark which has a fetid smell if cut. This is a small to medium sized tree, growing 15 to 20 feet tall and wide. It can be a multi-stemmed shrub that suckers and becomes a spreading colony. It grows in sun or shade and likes fertile, acidic soil. It also likes moist, but well drained soil, and tolerates periodic flooding. This tree does well along stream banks and in low wet areas. It is host for the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. It is good in wildlife habitats, naturalized areas, and retention ponds. The Pawpaw Tree is native from New York to Florida and west to Nebraska and Texas. The tropical look of its large leaves and mango-like fruit make it a conversation piece. We have planted several small Pawpaw Trees in the arboretum and along the wildflower trail. One day we'll see and eat the fruits of our labor. I can't wait.