Paw-sitivley Delicious

Pawpaw - Asimina triloba

What do Osage Oranges and Pawpaws have in common? Megafauna seed dispersal! Large fruit such as the Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) and Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) show evidence they evolved to be eaten and dispersed by megafauna such as Giant Ground Sloths and Mastodons. Today humans and smaller mammals do the job. Pawpaws were also widely consumed by Indigenous Americans who also used the bark to make rope and other tools. 

Pawpaws forming in July at Chanticleer

A small tree with a unique fruit, Pawpaws are native to eastern North America. It's amazing that this tropical tasting fruit in the Custard Apple family (Annonaceae) grows wild here and is North America's largest fruit! Members of this family are typically found growing in tropical climates and include plants such as ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata), a popular essential oil.  

If you've ever tried the fruit of a Pawpaw the taste is best described banana meets apple meets pineapple? Or at least that's how I would! They are sweet with a creamy texture that I look forward to enjoying every September. 

On the job perks while weeding under a Pawpaw at Chanticleer

Once ripe these don't store long, eat or bake with asap!

There is a small patch planted close to the dog park - five trees that might not look particularly exciting but at various stages of the seasons I find they are.  The flowers are a unique maroon color that face downward. Pawpaws need pollen from other trees in order to produce fruit. But who the heck is pollinating these unusual flowers? When I see flowers of this color that aren't "showy" I think of non-traditional pollinators such as flies and beetles and that is exactly who pollinates Pawpaws. 

There are five trees planted here at Foulkeways

The maroon flowers attract flies and beetles! 

The trees are typically found as an understory tree in moist, rich woodlands and on the edge of floodplains.  In cultivation they are grown in full sun to encourage more flowers and fruit. The leaves are large - up to 12 in. - with a glossy texture and in the Fall they turn a bright yellow. They really do look more tropical than most of our native trees with slight resemblance to a Magnolia tree such as cucumber magnolia - Magnolia acuminata. 

Woods in Maryland with pawpaws primarily as the understory trees

Around mid-June is when fruit will start to be seen on the trees - I eagerly checked ours in mid-June and to my delight they had many clusters of fruit! From the beginning of September and into Fall is when the fruit begins to ripen. I was always told, like our native persimmons, to get them when they are on the ground so you know they are ripe. They will feel soft to the touch like an avocado and have more of a bruising coloration. 

A successful forage!

I'd love to keep adding more native edibles to the property. Maybe some persimmons, hazelnuts would be cool too! Any suggestions? Do you have any memories with pawpaws or fun recipes? How would you describe the taste? Share below! 

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