As a youthful lady friend , my friends and I enjoyed singing this folk tune : Where , oh where , is dear little Nellie ? Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch . Sound conversant ? At the time , I think “ pawpaw ” was a wacky made - up name for a fabricated tree . It was many , many years before I actually saw a living pawpaw tree and try its rather unusual yield . Once I did , I was smitten . say on to find out more about the “ American Custard Apple . ”
What ’s a pawpaw?The papaw tree , known asAsimina trilobain the scientific world , is classified as a deciduous tree diagram with semi - tropical property . The papaw tree is an endemic plant in 26 State Department in the easterly and midwestern U.S. , include Virginia . This classifiable coinage , which belongs to the Annonaceae family , is an understory tree that typically grow to a height of 5 - 8 cadence . It produces abstemious green yield call pawpaws , the largest edible native yield spring up in this country . The diffuse , prosperous flesh of this fruit is resonant of custard , and its unique savor is a scrumptious compounding of mango and banana tree . No wonder the words of that folk music song refer to youngster collecting this delicious fruit and placing them in the front pouch of their aprons : Pickin ’ up pawpaws and puttin ’ ‘ em in your pocket . If your pinna are n’t ring yet , here ’s adelightful version of that song .
Where will you bump pawpaw trees?The pawpaw is often found near streambeds , rivers , and floodplain because of its preference for fertile , damp land . It will also grow on hillside and slopes , if the dirt is rich and sufficiently bass and stiff . When mature , the papaw tree diagram can tolerate plenty of Lord’s Day , but it ’s a more common ken in the partial shade of hardwood forests . The pawpaw will not thrive in poor soil or region with lineal or undue wind exposure . Pawpaw trees run to grow in patches or brush , due to clonal spreading that appears when their antecedent suckers extend outward from existing works to imprint fresh trees . give way the right conditions , papaya trees procreate gradually , but prolifically . If well - establish , they may slow down the growth of other prevalent Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree coinage , such as oaks and hickories .
How do you know it ’s a pawpaw?The small-scale to medium - sized papaya tree tree , forge like a pyramid , is sometimes name to as a bush . The slender , rocky bark of a pawpaw Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is grey with noticeable cracks and warts on its outer cover . When damage or bruised , the barque exudes a cheating odor , which may explicate why many woodland animals stay away from this tree . The dark greenish shiny leaves on a Asimina triloba are pretty large with an oblong shape : 25 curium long and 10 cm spacious . Leaves are wider at their outer end and taper to a pronounced detail where they link to a ramification . These are simple , alternate leave-taking with spectacular veins and midrib put in a turbinate - similar radiation diagram that wilt downward , as if hit toward the ground below . When fall arrives , pawpaw farewell turn a beautiful gilded yellow color , which makes it easy to make out them from afar .
What about the flower and fruit?Pawpaw flowersare deep burgundy at first and then turn a maroonish - brown gloss when to the full fledged . These small ( diameter of 3 - 5 cm ) , perfect flowers ( both manly and distaff reproductive parts are present ) with six petals and three sepal appear early in the spring . Unlike the blossoms on many other trees , pawpaw flowers are not lush and have a slightly unpleasant odor . Each flower has more than one ovary , so one bloom can produce several Carica papaya , which ripen in the fall . Pawpaw fruit resembles the shape of a mango , slightly like a flattened ellipse covered in light dark-green skin . As thump of fruit grow and increase in size of it ( up to 15 atomic number 96 in length ) , their weight may do droop tree branches . When ready for consumption , the ever - softening papaya become yellowish and have dark spots on their pelt . Inside the fruit , two rows of big calamitous seeds are embedded in squishy , rich yellow pulp . Each pawpaw has 10 - 12 seeds , each one the size of a thumbnail .
Not everyone likes pawpaws , but they decidedly attract to my taste buds . The creamy texture melt in your mouth as the refreshing , tropical flavor is released , give way to dream of the Caribbean . Besides use up them raw , you may substitute pawpaws for bananas when broil , or process them for ice ointment , a yummy treat ! If you cook with pawpaws , use recipes that call for minuscule or no heat because high temperatures can ruin the special appreciation of this fruit . By the way , Carica papaya are high innutritional economic value . Like bananas , oranges , and apples , they offer generous amounts of vitamin C , magnesium , atomic number 19 , and amino acids , but pawpaw yield provide comparatively more protein . pawpaw are also a in effect informant of dietary fibre .
How do you cultivate pawpaws?Root suckers from a pawpaw patch can be used to startle newfangled trees , but the success rate is low . If seed are used , they must be stratified ( kept cold ) for 3 - 4 months in a moist surround ( for example , with sphagnum moss ) . line of business - planted seeds will not emerge until the succeed summer , and those plants may not produce flowers or fruit for another five years or more . For good luck with newfangled pawpaw trees , buy container - produce seedlings(not bare source ) of recommended varieties , such as ‘ Davis ’ , ‘ Overleese ’ , ‘ Prolific , ‘ Sunflower ’ , or ‘ Taylor ’ from a reputable glasshouse . Spring is the sentence to engraft container - grown seedlings .
Pawpaw trees need fertile , well - drained , slightly acidulent ( pH 6 - 7 ) filth to fly high . unseasoned trees should be space 2½ – 3 meters aside in rows that are at least 6 meters wide , so they will have sizeable way to grow and regurgitate . The trunk of a pawpaw tree diagram should be surrounded by a generous layer of mulch ( straw or wood chips ) for weed restraint and moisture retentiveness . Remember not to allow a youthful seedling dry out as it gets established in its unexampled setting . To produce yield , a pawpaw Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree requirescross pollination from another unrelated Asimina triloba tree . alas , their foul odor keeps most bees away , so home gardeners often helping hand - pollinate their own trees .
Hurray for the pawpaw!It ’s one of those rare plants that cervid and rabbits annul , mainly because of the moderately smelly barque , sprig , leave , and flowers . Birds , squirrels , foxes , and calamitous bears do enjoy eating pawpaw fruit , but they are generally not destructive to the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as a whole . Most insects steer clear of this Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , but it befall to be the only horde plant for larva of the sensational zebra morning coat . If you be intimate watching those butterflies , as I do , then this might be a enceinte choice for your yard . In addition to its other winning characteristics , the pawpaw is relatively disease - loose , so no chemical substance are needed to keep it good for you . foretell newfangled enquiry also suggests that substances in papaya tree leaves and twigs might have anti - cancer belongings . discover more about this captivating mintage at the Pawpaw Research Center , Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Project .
References
https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b500
California Rare Fruit Growers//pubs / pawpaw.html
“ This Once - Obscure Fruit Is On Its mode to Becoming Pawpaw - Pawpular,”NPR.org
http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/pawpaw
“ Specialty Crop Profile : Pawpaw,”https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu / content / dkm / pubs_ext_vt_edu/2906/2906 - 1319/2906 - 1319_pdf.pdf
“ Native Fruit and Nut Trees and Shrubs of the Virginia Mountains and Piedmont,”https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu / capacity / dam / pubs_ext_vt_edu / ANR / ANR-23 / ANR-23NP_pdf.pdf
Kentucky St. Univ . /Pawpaw
“ Fourth International Pawpaw Conference held at Kentucky State University,”https://kysu.edu/2025-06-02 / 4th - external - papaya - conference - held - at - kentucky - state - university/
“ Growing Pawpaws,”ag.purdue.edu
