Asimina triloba

 

Common Names: pawpaw, Indiana banana, Hoosier banana Family: 

 Annonaceae (annona Family)

Description

Common pawpaw is a small tree to 25 ft (7.6 m) tall with big drooping, tropical-looking leaves. These are up to a 1 ft (0.3 m) long and turn brown and gold in autumn. The maroon flowers, about 1-2 in (2.5-5 cm) across appear before the leaves in spring, growing right out of the smooth, gray bark of the previous season's growth. The greenish fruits are shaped like bananas or mangos. They are 3-6 in (7.6-15 cm) long and hang in clusters with 2 to 9 pawpaws per cluster. When ripe, the fruit tastes like a creamy mixture of banana and pineapple. Pawpaws are prone to suckering (sending up shoots), and the proverbial pawpaw patch is often a clone arising from a single individual.

 

The cluster survived to maturity and Steve claimed his prize soon after this picture was taken. He reports that they are "incredibly delicious"!

This is a closeup of a pawpaw flower. They appear in April before the tree leafs out.

Location

Pawpaw, Asimina triloba, is native to the Eastern United States where it grows in the understory of mixed hardwood forests, on slopes and in rarely flooded bottomlands.