Pawpaw

Asimina triloba
PAWPAW
Annonaceae
E. North America

Location: map coordinates T-11 (north side of Washington Building, outside entrance to Claude E. Phillips Herbarium),
N 39°11'7'' W 75°32'45''

Planting history: planted 2006 (by Dr. A. Tucker). Source: J. E. Miller Nurseries, Inc., Canandaigua, NY. The labeled tree is cultivar ‘Sunflower’, and the smaller one immediately to the east of it is ‘Wells’

Description:

deciduous shrub or small tree
etymology: Asimina from French colonist’s asiminier, from native American Indian name assimin; triloba = 3-lobed (calyx and corolla)
leaves large and drooping; serve as the sole food of the zebra swallowtail butterfly caterpillar
flowers purplish-brown, with 2 circles of petals; open mid-April (in DE); unpleasant odor and color attracts fly pollinators
fruits up to 6” long, yellowish. The largest tree fruit native to North America (therefore theorized to have evolved for dispersal by now-extinct large animals). Edible with a banana-mango-pineapple flavor
it may be important to plant 2 genetically-different trees to allow cross-pollination, to produce fruit
height usually to 15’-20’ tall (sometimes 30’); can grow clonally to form dense stands in forest understory
contains chemicals [acetogenins] toxic to many insects
the Annonaceae, the custard–apple family, is mostly tropical; Asimina is the only genus in the family not confined to the tropics and subtropics. This family also includes custard apple, cherimoya, and soursop
popularized in traditional children’s song “pickin’ up pawpaws, put ‘em in your pocket, way down yonder in the pawpaw patch”
efforts underway to develop pawpaw as a commercial crop, but fruit over-ripens quickly; hardy to ca zone 5
native to central and southern US, including Delaware; rich, moist soils

Native species, State Rank S5 (very common in Delaware)