The Indiscriminate
Pawpaw

by Gail Gillogly
Autumn 2003

 

 

 

In the face of additives, pesticides, and chemicals in general, I have seen a growing (no pun intended) response to the personal edible landscape. Maybe it's once again time to be aware and learn of the natural edible garden that surrounds us, and even support and encourage it in our own landscapes.

summer pawpaw
autumn pawpaw

There it was -- a huge perimeter of suckers with a mature, multi-branched base far to the center. (The cleared area around the base in the pictures above was solid with suckers that had sprouted.) Its location on the estate was in a high visibility area, along the walking path and near a high traffic crossroad. So what on earth was I going to do with this mess of . . . what? Shrubs? Small trees? It was neither. What I had on my hands was a genuine pawpaw patch.

My first plan of action was to find out what exactly a pawpaw is. I remembered the children's lyric, even remembered singing it, and after reading and learning a bit about the nature of the pawpaw tree I was ready to dig in. I could see that achieving a decent looking specimen out of this tangled mess wasn't such a bad job after all, just a minor challenge. It had indeed been placed in a perfect area but had been neglected.

Out came the loppers, hand saw, and hand clippers. As I approached, I envisioned this pawpaw tree standing a bit more erect, shaking just a bit, not sure of the outcome of all these sharp tools. The surrounding trees seemed to be leaning a bit inward to get the best view of what was about to occur, perhaps wondering if I would come their way, too. So the work began – sawing, digging, trimming, snipping, and shaping. As I stepped back to view the pawpaw for minor adjustments once again, I noticed it did, in fact, stand taller.

Several of the suckers had "somewhat" of a root system, so I potted them up to see if they would take for me. Because it was late January, they were dormant and it would be a while before I would know if the suckers would survive the abruptness of being moved from a nice secure home to one-gallon containers. I put them in a sheltered area, lined up against the garage with several other pots of perennials, tucked up together for warmth, with a light covering of mulch.

During those winter months, a bit more research would introduce me to this wonderful native plant that had taken a back seat to the "new and better" shrub varieties available on the market. The explosive characteristics of this "Indiscriminate Pawpaw" are absolutely amazing.

Asimina triloba is otherwise known popularly as Pawpaw. Other aliases are Paw Paw, Papaw, Poor Man's Banana, Hoosier Banana, White Plum, Indiana Banana, Nebraska Banana, Michigan Banana, Custard Apple, False Banana, and the list goes on.

The pawpaw is the only temperate member of the tropical Annonaceae family and is the largest tree fruit native to the U.S. It covers a wide swath across the states. In fact, in 25 of the 50 states you will find the pawpaw along the stream and creek beds – from the eastern U.S. to eastern Kansas and Texas, and from the Great Lakes almost to the Gulf, with some even growing into the southern interior of Ontario (Canada).

It requires a minimum of 400 hours of winter chill with at least 160 frost-free days. Pawpaws appear to be sensitive to low humidity, dry winds, and cool maritime summers, which is why they are seldom found around the coastal regions. They also need a soil that drains well. The pawpaw is referred to as an understory tree, meaning it thrives under the protection of the canopy of larger tree species. The height of the tree is generally 20 to 30 ft, although this varies depending on the soil properties and amount of sunlight. During the first year it is crucial for the pawpaw to receive a lot of water and be protected from direct sunlight. Many suppliers include a tree shade with the purchase. Once established it will bear more fruit in a moderately sunny location.

The pawpaw's foliage is obovate (oblong) and a deep green color that turns yellow in the fall (see above). These drooping leaves can reach up to 12 inches giving it a wonderful tropical appearance. The flowers develop in the axils of the previous year's leaves and can be seen in the fall as small, velvety, dark brown buds. In early spring -- anywhere from March through May -- these unique, thick, waxy, maroon, upside-down flowers appear before the leaves do and consist of two whorls of three petals each, with each calyx having three sepals. Each flower has several ovaries, which is how a single flower can produce multiple fruits. In its natural environment, this early bloom period causes a low fruit production due to poor pollination. The only insects active during this time of the year are bees, flies, and beetles. Unfortunately the bees are not attracted to the putrid-flesh smell of the blossom, so that leaves it up to the flies and beetles. You can increase the production by hand pollinating. This year the tree pictured here bore around 60 to 70 fruits with no assistance. The fruits are green, oblong, and cylindrical, and hang singly or in small clusters. They can weigh anywhere from 5 to 16 ounces and may be 3 to 6 inches long.

The skin of the fruit is leathery and thin, revealing a deep yellow-orange colored fruit with a custard consistency. There are around eight large dark seeds that look somewhat like a lima bean. The seeds are double-rowed through the middle of the fruit and are unconnected to each other. The flavor of the creamy fruit is a medley of banana, mango, papaya, and pineapple.

The fruit ripens sporadically during a four-week period from mid-August to the beginning of October, depending on location. Once the pawpaw fruit has fallen or is picked, the shelf life is a relatively short two or three days, or if refrigerated you can expect them to keep for one to three weeks. Frozen pulp will keep for several months.

The Cherokee, among other Native American tribes, utilized the pawpaw fruit as food. They also used the inner bark to make cordage, twisting the bark to make string and strong ropes. The Iroquois mashed the pawpaw fruit and made small cakes that were dried and stored. The dried cakes would then be soaked in water and cooked to make a sauce or relish that was served with corn bread. The raw and cooked fruits were dried either by the sun or over a fire to be stored or taken on hunts. Some of the wildlife that frequent the pawpaw tree are the opossum, raccoon, foxes, and squirrels. At the garden we spotted crows eating the fruit, too.

Nutritionally, the fruit of the pawpaw is an unbelievable powerhouse. It is high in vitamins and is a great source of beta-carotene and vitamin C. The calcium content is very high, as are the magnesium and manganese. It contains all of the essential amino acids and is a great source of protein. (Please take the time to look at the nutrition fact sheets listed in the KYSU link. It is the first one listed.)

Because the pawpaw is very high in iron, I would not incorporate it into the diet of any of the parrot species with a low tolerance to iron. I made Pawpaw Bread for my companions and they loved it. I must say it creates quite the mess as you can see by the pictures here, and it is a gooey chore to extract the seeds, but it is quite good. There are lots of great recipes out there to utilize the pawpaw fruit, including jams, breads, baby food, and even ice-cream (for the humans of course).

The leaf, bark, and twig tissues of the pawpaw produce natural compounds (annonaceous acetogenins) which possess both highly anti-tumor and pesticidal properties. There are studies looking into the production of anti-cancer drugs (pending FDA approval) and natural (botanical) pesticides. However, I also found the pawpaw on a list of toxic plants stating that a few individuals might experience minor skin irritations from the leaves or stomach cramping from the fruit, with symptoms lasting only a short time.

Another wonderful aspect to the pawpaw is the Zebra Swallowtail Eurytides marcellus. The Zebra Swallowtail lays its eggs on the under sides of the pawpaw leaf, and the larvae feed exclusively on the leaves after hatching. So now you know how to attract this beautiful butterfly to your own garden.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my shared seasons this year with this gift of a tree. As for the suckers I dug up and potted from the unruly patch in late January, about 90% survived. They will be put into a protected area and nurtured, hopefully becoming a productive little grove in time. A word of advice for the gathering of the fruit: if you shake the limbs to loosen the fruit, cover your head and don't look up because they pack a whollup coming down. I only cleared the patch of suckers out once by hand and the rest of the year it was easily mowed. I understand that after a couple of years of mowing, the suckers will quit trying to grow.

I highly recommend the pawpaw as a dependable addition to your edible landscape. Did I mention that you can just eat the fruit as it ripens on the tree? There are many available sources for the purchase of pawpaw trees on the internet, or ask your local nurseryman who may already carry them.

Well I'm off to pull a loaf of Pawpaw Bread out of the freezer to thaw for my crew here. I hope you, too, find or create a pawpaw patch in which to play.

http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/pawpaw/cooking.htm http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pawpaw.html http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/nexus/Asimina_triloba_nex.html http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/johnson/hort/Butterfly/ZebraSwallowtail.htm http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Asimitr.htm http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/9709.McLaughlin.pawpaw.html