ASIMINA TRILOBA
Have you heard of the pawpaw, Asimina triloba? It’s the largest native North American fruit, and it has a tropical flavor and custardy texture.
If you’re confused, that’s because there are other tropical fruits called pawpaw, including the papaya, Carica papaya, and the graviola, or soursop, Annona muricata.
Unlike them, A. triloba grows in the temperate regions of USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9, and has three intriguing qualities:
It is a hardy deciduous perennial that grows as either a tree or shrub.
Fruit is optional because the plant does not self-pollinate.
With or without fruit, its drooping golden leaves in fall and musky, maroon flowers in spring make for a striking and structural focal point.
Read on to discover a temperate zone fruit once so popular it was celebrated with song, and learn how to grow it in your home landscape.
Here’s what’s in store:
HOW TO GROW PAWPAWS
Consume with Caution
“Way Down Yonder”
Pawpaw Pioneers
A Patch of Your Own
Soil Requirements
Location Selection
Pollination and Fruit
Quality Plants for Best Results
Planting Directions
Pests and Disease
Care and Maintenance
Where to Buy
Pawpaw Pickin’
CONSUME WITH CAUTION
Also known as “Indiana banana,” “Quaker delight,” “Appalachian banana,” and “poor man’s banana,” the pawpaw is a member of the Annonaceae, or custard apple family that includes cherimoya, Annona cherimola, and graviola, aka soursop, A. muricata (mentioned above).
And while the fruit has an appealing flavor, there are some people for whom consumption causes stomach upset. This is due to the chemical compound annonacin, which is also present in the bark and seeds.
The NC State Extension categorizes the level of toxicity from eating pawpaw as low, with the summary: “fruit edible but some people suffer severe stomach and intestinal pain; skin irritation from handling fruit.”
In addition, the pulp and twigs contain acetogenins, metabolic compounds toxic to some cancer cells. However, Sloan Kettering advises its cancer patients : “There are no published clinical studies in humans to determine the safety of pawpaw for cancer treatment,” and goes on to warn patients who wish to consume the fruit that they may experience allergic reactions, neurotoxic effects, or vomiting if they do.
Pawpaw fruit perishes quickly after ripening, so it is not currently a commonplace grocery store commodity. Instead, it’s the domain of small-scale farmers and home growers who often supply it to farmers markets.
In addition to fresh fruit and frozen pulp, extracts are available in pill form for the purported purpose of boosting cell health.
Professor Bruce Bordelon, of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, concurs with the warnings and says, “When it comes to pawpaw, perhaps it is best to enjoy the fruit in moderation.”
“WAY DOWN YONDER”
At a length of up to six inches, the pawpaw is North America’s largest native fruit.
The abundant fruit of a pawpaw tree.
It’s an overlooked legacy from Mother Nature that harks back to gentler times, when bonneted girls and straw-hatted boys went fruit picking in bare feet on summer mornings.
Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.
These old Appalachian lyrics have been sung around many a campfire, including the girl scout jamborees of my childhood. But although I was in prime pawpaw territory, I grew up with only the word, and not the sweet flavor, on my tongue.
So, what’s a pawpaw patch?
A. triloba is a plant that thrives in organically-rich areas along waterways, in woodlands, and on hillsides, where the ground is especially moist. It may have the habit of either a tree or a shrub.
As an understory plant, beneath the partial shade of deciduous trees, it is shrub-like. But in the full sunshine of open spac)
ASIMINA TRILOBA
Have you heard of the pawpaw, Asimina triloba? It’s the largest native North American fruit, and it has a tropical flavor and custardy texture.
If you’re confused, that’s because there are other tropical fruits called pawpaw, including the papaya, Carica papaya, and the graviola, or soursop, Annona muricata.
Unlike them, A. triloba grows in the temperate regions of USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9, and has three intriguing qualities:
It is a hardy deciduous perennial that grows as either a tree or shrub.
Fruit is optional because the plant does not self-pollinate.
With or without fruit, its drooping golden leaves in fall and musky, maroon flowers in spring make for a striking and structural focal point.
Read on to discover a temperate zone fruit once so popular it was celebrated with song, and learn how to grow it in your home landscape.
Here’s what’s in store:
HOW TO GROW PAWPAWS
Consume with Caution
“Way Down Yonder”
Pawpaw Pioneers
A Patch of Your Own
Soil Requirements
Location Selection
Pollination and Fruit
Quality Plants for Best Results
Planting Directions
Pests and Disease
Care and Maintenance
Where to Buy
Pawpaw Pickin’
CONSUME WITH CAUTION
Also known as “Indiana banana,” “Quaker delight,” “Appalachian banana,” and “poor man’s banana,” the pawpaw is a member of the Annonaceae, or custard apple family that includes cherimoya, Annona cherimola, and graviola, aka soursop, A. muricata (mentioned above).
And while the fruit has an appealing flavor, there are some people for whom consumption causes stomach upset. This is due to the chemical compound annonacin, which is also present in the bark and seeds.
The NC State Extension categorizes the level of toxicity from eating pawpaw as low, with the summary: “fruit edible but some people suffer severe stomach and intestinal pain; skin irritation from handling fruit.”
In addition, the pulp and twigs contain acetogenins, metabolic compounds toxic to some cancer cells. However, Sloan Kettering advises its cancer patients : “There are no published clinical studies in humans to determine the safety of pawpaw for cancer treatment,” and goes on to warn patients who wish to consume the fruit that they may experience allergic reactions, neurotoxic effects, or vomiting if they do.
Pawpaw fruit perishes quickly after ripening, so it is not currently a commonplace grocery store commodity. Instead, it’s the domain of small-scale farmers and home growers who often supply it to farmers markets.
In addition to fresh fruit and frozen pulp, extracts are available in pill form for the purported purpose of boosting cell health.
Professor Bruce Bordelon, of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, concurs with the warnings and says, “When it comes to pawpaw, perhaps it is best to enjoy the fruit in moderation.”
“WAY DOWN YONDER”
At a length of up to six inches, the pawpaw is North America’s largest native fruit.
The abundant fruit of a pawpaw tree.
It’s an overlooked legacy from Mother Nature that harks back to gentler times, when bonneted girls and straw-hatted boys went fruit picking in bare feet on summer mornings.
Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.
These old Appalachian lyrics have been sung around many a campfire, including the girl scout jamborees of my childhood. But although I was in prime pawpaw territory, I grew up with only the word, and not the sweet flavor, on my tongue.
So, what’s a pawpaw patch?
A. triloba is a plant that thrives in organically-rich areas along waterways, in woodlands, and on hillsides, where the ground is especially moist. It may have the habit of either a tree or a shrub.
As an understory plant, beneath the partial shade of deciduous trees, it is shrub-like. But in the full sunshine of open spac
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