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PawPaw: All About North America’s Largest Edible Fruit

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Jonathon Engels, a long-time vegetarian turned vegan, is currently on a trip from Guatemala to... Read More

Incredibly, North America, and the United States, in particular, produces a huge (and delicious) fruit that grows natively but has gone largely unnoticed by most of the population. Globally, the term pawpaw is more likely to be used about tropical Carica papayas than its attribution to a temperate-climate tree scientifically recognized as Asimina tribola.

The American pawpaw tree fakes the tropics, both in its look and the flavor of its fruit, often compared to bananas, mangos, and pineapples. It is a relative to a family of trees—Annonaceae—that includes several tropical varieties. Soursop, custard apple, and cherimoya are all tropical relatives of the pawpaw.

However, American pawpaws are native to the eastern United States and Canada. Native Americans enjoyed them, Thomas Jefferson cultivated them at Monticello, Lewis and Clark ate them on their expedition, and pawpaws are rumored to have been George Washington’s favorite dessert. So, why have the majority of us never tasted one? Well…

The Stats on Pawpaw Trees

Source: SouthCarolinaETV/Youtube

Pawpaw trees aren’t large trees in the scheme of forests. At their most demonstrative, they can reach around 40 feet with trunks breaking a foot in diameter but tend to be a bit about half that size. They have large, deciduous leaves that reach between four and ten inches long, four to six inches wide, and form symmetrical clusters at the ends of branches.

The pawpaw flower, a springtime occurrence, is very distinct, deep maroon and hanging facedown from the branches. It is usually only an inch or two across and has six petals. The fruit that forms from those flowers resembles a mango in appearance: up to six inches long, three inches broad, and yellowish-greenish-brown in color. These are usually maturing—potentially weighing over a pound—in early fall.

The Growth of Pawpaw Trees

Pawpaw trees have a large growing range, mostly within the United States. They will happily grow as far west as Texas and Nebraska, as far south as the Florida Panhandle, and up to southern Ontario and New York. They perform best in USDA Zones 5-8.

They more often multiply by suckers than seeds, which have a low and slow rate of germination. Therefore, when present, pawpaw trees tend to grow in thickets. They tend to appear a few years after an area has been clear-cut, and they prefer floodplains and rich bottomlands with a bit of shade, growing either as undergrowth or along forest edges. Despite their affinity for shade, pawpaw trees don’t survive in old-growth forests.

The Problem with Pawpaws

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Pawpaw trees—the leaves, twigs, and bark—are known to have an unpleasant odor, which is useful in keeping insects, foraging animals, and possibly humans at bay. Making the situation stink even more, the fragrance of pawpaw flowers is likened to rotting meat, something foul enough to ward off most pollinating insects. This means the trees often have low fruit production.

The other major issue with pawpaws as a commercial fruit is that they do not ship or store well. Like soursops and custard apples, pawpaws are at their most tasty when they’ve matured to the point of being mushy. Due to this, the best way to get fresh pawpaw fruit is to have a tree, forage it from a forest or know someone who cultivates them. The other issue here is that, despite the tree and flowers being unattractive to wildlife, just about everything enjoys the sweet, pudding-like fruit.

The Benefits of Pawpaws

Aside from being delicious, pawpaw fruits and the family of related fruiting trees are renowned for having medicinal qualities. Studies (Note: These are still incomplete) have shown that extracts from pawpaw fruit kill cancer cells commonly resistant to chemotherapy. However, pawpaw extract is used in anti-lice shampoo.

Also, the foul smell in pawpaw leaves is the result of a plant chemical that makes the pawpaw plant a useful, natural pesticide. Research has proven the extract from pawpaw plants is effective in thwarting aphids and midges from devouring crop plants.

Now, The Fruit

Source: Plant Based Gabriel/Youtube

Pawpaw fruit is compared to lots of other fruits or blends of fruits, particularly tropical flavors like bananas, mangos, and pineapples, as well as peaches. Banana is probably the most referenced. It is eaten when the fruit is very ripe, so soft on the inside that it can be scooped out with a spoon, a la custard. It has large, black seeds that are easy to avoid. It is amazing as is, or it can be frozen and blended into vegan ice creams.

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