The common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States. It belongs to the custard apple family (Annonaceae)—making it a relative of tropical fruits like cherimoya and soursop, though it is unusual for being the only temperate member of that family.
Key Features
Size: Typically 12–25 feet tall, often forming thickets by root suckering.
Leaves: Large, simple, and drooping, up to 12 inches long; turn yellow in fall.
Flowers: Maroon to reddish-purple, about 1–2 inches wide, blooming in spring before the leaves fully expand.
Fruit: A greenish-yellow berry (2–6 inches long) that ripens to soft yellow-brown. The flesh is creamy and sweet, with a flavor often compared to banana, mango, or custard. Each fruit contains several large brown seeds.
Bark: Smooth when young, becoming slightly fissured with age.
Habitat & Range
Grows in rich, moist, well-drained soils, often found in floodplains, bottomlands, and along streams.
Native from the Great Lakes and Midwest down to the Gulf Coastal Plain, and from the Atlantic east to eastern Kansas and Texas.
Ecological & Cultural Notes
Pollination: Flowers are pollinated by beetles and flies, not bees. Hand-pollination is often used in cultivation for better fruit set.
Wildlife: Fruits are eaten by raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and birds.
Human Use: Fruits are edible and were traditionally eaten by Indigenous peoples. Today they’re sometimes used in desserts, ice creams, and brewing.
Symbolism: Pawpaw is the state fruit of Ohio and has a cultural presence in Appalachian folk songs (“Way Down Yonder in the Pawpaw Patch”).
