Pawpaw

Pawpaw is the largest fruit native to North America, a small deciduous tree reaching 15–30 ft that grows wild in moist, rich bottomland forests from the Great Lakes region to northern Florida and west into Nebraska. Its large, tropical-looking leaves and dark maroon flowers make it a distinctive element of a native planting or food forest, and the custard-textured fruit—tasting of banana, vanilla, and mango—is the primary reason most gardeners grow it.

Pawpaw spreads by root suckers and forms clonal colonies; because all trees in a clonal patch are genetically identical, they cannot cross-pollinate. Two seedling-grown trees from different sources, or grafted cultivars of distinct parentage, are needed for reliable fruit set. The flowers have a faint carrion odor and are pollinated primarily by flies and beetles; hand-pollinating with a small brush significantly improves yields. Young trees tolerate partial shade but produce more fruit with at least six hours of direct sun. Prefers deep, fertile, slightly acidic soil with consistent moisture and a thick organic mulch layer; it resents drought and waterlogged ground. Remove root suckers promptly to maintain single-trunk form, or allow them to develop a naturalistic thicket.

The fruit is nutritionally dense, with meaningful levels of vitamins C and A, riboflavin, niacin, iron, and magnesium. It is eaten fresh or used in ice cream, smoothies, and baked goods, though shelf life is only two to three days at room temperature. Pawpaw is the sole larval host plant of the zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) in eastern North America. The bark, leaves, and seeds contain annonaceous acetogenins—compounds under investigation for cytotoxic properties—and are not edible.