Asimina triloba - PawPaw
The Pawpaw grows from 10 to 40 feet tall. It has drooping, pear-shaped leaves that are alternate, from 4 to 12 inches in length, with smooth margins and pointed tips. The leaves have fine whitish hairs on the upper surface and rusty-colored hairs on the lower surface. The leaves are aromatic and are slightly reminiscent of the smell of a bell pepper.
The flowers are small and inconspicuous (1.5 to 2 inches in diameter) with green sepals upon opening that darken to dark purple or maroon later on. One to four flowers grow in the leaf axils before the leaves appear, typically in April or May. The flowers have a smell that resembles rotten meat, which is advantageous considering they are pollinated by flies.
Yellowish green to brown, cylindrical, mango-shaped fruits (from 2.75 to 6 inches in length) grow either solitarily or in clusters of 2 to 4. The fruits ripen between August and October. The fruits contain a yellow, custard-like pulp that is said to be similar in taste to a papaya.
This tree grows over much of North America from Ontario and Michigan south to Florida and Texas. Pawpaws are highly frost tolerant and grow in humid areas. They grow in the open woods in wet, fertile bottomlands, but can grow on rich upland soils. They often grow as an understory tree in oak-hickory forests in the mid-south where they grown in clusters or thickets.
Click here for a recipe using pawpaws to make a delicious bread.
The flowers are small and inconspicuous (1.5 to 2 inches in diameter) with green sepals upon opening that darken to dark purple or maroon later on. One to four flowers grow in the leaf axils before the leaves appear, typically in April or May. The flowers have a smell that resembles rotten meat, which is advantageous considering they are pollinated by flies.
Yellowish green to brown, cylindrical, mango-shaped fruits (from 2.75 to 6 inches in length) grow either solitarily or in clusters of 2 to 4. The fruits ripen between August and October. The fruits contain a yellow, custard-like pulp that is said to be similar in taste to a papaya.
This tree grows over much of North America from Ontario and Michigan south to Florida and Texas. Pawpaws are highly frost tolerant and grow in humid areas. They grow in the open woods in wet, fertile bottomlands, but can grow on rich upland soils. They often grow as an understory tree in oak-hickory forests in the mid-south where they grown in clusters or thickets.
Click here for a recipe using pawpaws to make a delicious bread.