Asimina triloba
The pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree of hardwood forests, which is found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and also hilly upland habitat.The name pawpaw or papaw, first recorded in print in English in 1598, originally meant the giant herb Carica papaya or its fruit (as it still commonly does in many English-speaking communities, including Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa).They are a tropical family consisting of 112 accepted genera with about 2,200 species spread primarily across South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.As with other well-studied species of Annonaceae, the delay in the shift from female to male floral stage offers beetles a secure, and possibly thermogenic, residence in which not only to feed but also to mate.[8][42] Professional papers on genus Asimina and its species have warned of the difficulties in discerning whether insects observed on or collected from flowers are effective pollinators or merely casual and thus opportunistic visitors.[41][43][44] A citizen science project in southern Michigan utilized natural history forms of observation, along with video and photo documentation, during a "pawpaw pollinator watch" in May 2021.[39] Two species of tiny sap beetle were reported as the most abundant and the most consistently present insect types at depth within the flowers, and thus as the most likely effective pollinators.[39] Until the expansion of humans into North America at the end of the Pleistocene, dispersal of pawpaw seeds would primarily have occurred via the dung of certain megafauna (such as mastodons, mammoths, and giant ground sloths).[46][47][48] The megafaunal dispersal syndrome is a common feature of some plants native to the Western Hemisphere, where a large proportion of megafauna went extinct near the end of the glacial episodes.[27] Their anatomical features, such as seeds too big for today's fruit eaters to swallow and then defecate, means they are no longer well adapted for current ecological conditions.[49] Another indicator of dispersal adaptation for megafauna is that pawpaw fruit (wild types and most cultivars) tend to remain green or become blotched with brown when at peak ripeness.[63] Larvae of the zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus), a butterfly, feed exclusively on young leaves of A. triloba and various other pawpaw (Asimina) species, but do not occur in great numbers on the plants.[61] Chemicals consumed by the caterpillars confer protection throughout the butterflies' lives, as trace amounts of acetogenins remain present, making them unpalatable to birds and other predators.A local news editorial wrote, "The return of the zebra swallowtail, after 87 years, is a huge success for naturalists, conservationists and native tree lovers....[69] Pawpaws are not the first to colonize a disturbed site, but because they are capable of growing in deep shade, they can establish from seed beneath mature deciduous trees and then spread into a subcanopy patch.They may even become dominant through time by depriving native canopy trees from re-establishing via seed in a treefall gap, owing to the dense shade within a pawpaw patch.In contrast to North American tree genera whose ranges extend into Europe or Asia (notably, chestnut and elm), global horticultural trade is therefore unlikely to introduce diseases that could decimate pawpaw.The tree's fondness of wet soil and tendency to multiply clonally to form dense and well-rooted thickets can protect against erosion and runoff.[79] In the eastern United States, where large predators are almost entirely lacking, pawpaw is one of the few native subcanopy trees whose bark and leaves are too poisonous for deer to browse.It is therefore a viable species for forest understory restoration in areas where fragmented landscapes, dwellings, and parks status preclude hunting as a population control.Despite its very short shelf life, vulnerability to bruising, and inability to fully ripen if harvested early, pawpaw has developed a specialty market appeal in some regions of its native range, including southern Ontario.[86] As described by horticulturist Barbara Damrosch, the fruit of the pawpaw "looks a bit like mango, but with pale yellow, custardy, spoonable flesh and black, easy-to-remove seeds.[88] They have long been a favorite treat throughout the tree's extensive native range in eastern North America, and on occasion are sold locally at farmers' markets.Research activities include germplasm collection and variety trials, and efforts are directed towards improving propagation, understanding fruit ripening and storage, and developing orchard management practices.KSU has created the three cultivars KSU-'Atwood', KSU-'Benson', and KSU-'Chappell', with foci on better flavors, higher yields, vigorous plants, and low seed-to-pulp ratios.The commercial cultivation and harvesting of pawpaws is strongest in southeastern Ohio[108] and also being explored in Kentucky[3] and Maryland,[62] as well as various areas outside the species' native range, including California,[61] the Pacific Northwest,[61] and Massachusetts.[109] Changing perspectives of the general population towards a healthier and environmentally conscious diet has led to increased interest in the pawpaw as food in recent years.Using pawpaw puree as a substitute for other sweeteners and creamers adds micronutrients such as iron and manganese while typically reducing the total sugar content as well as glycemic index of most recipes.This means that the cotyledons remain within the seed coat, acting as a food store for early growth until the plumule emerges from the soil on the epicotyl, or true stem.[102][101] A traditional American folk song portrays wild harvesting of pawpaws; Arty Schronce of the Georgia Department of Agriculture gives these lyrics:[26] Where, oh where is dear little Nellie?
Carica papayaPaw Paw (disambiguation)Conservation statusLeast ConcernIUCN 3.1NatureServeScientific classificationPlantaeTracheophytesAngiospermsMagnoliidsMagnolialesAnnonaceaeAsiminaBinomial namedeciduous treeOntariocustard-applecherimoyasweetsopylang-ylangsoursoppatch-forming (clonal)understorytropical rainforeststemperateindigenoussquashesvegetablesbotanycustardbananapineappleneurotoxinannonacinscientific nameNative AmericanMiami-IllinoisFrench colonialpapayaHoosierAppalachianQuakerPawneeChoctawleavesdeciduousobovate-lanceolatepetiolesbell pepperflowersperfectprotogynouspedunclesseed dispersalarborealspecific gravityOntario, CanadaNew YorkNebraskaFloridafloodplainstaprootAsimina parvifloraAsimina piedmontanaself-incompatiblepollination syndromethermogenicstigmasstamensmutualismGlischrochilus quadrisignatuscitizen scienceMichigannatural historysap beetleStelidota geminataNitidulidaeClemson UniversityPleistocenemegafaunamastodonsmammothsgiant ground slothscoevolvedevolutionary anachronismsprimatesolfactoryphotosynthesisextinctionhorticulturalmammalsraccoonsgray foxesopossumssquirrelsherbivorytoxinsacetogeninsrabbitsMarylandzebra swallowtailbutterflyPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaTalponia plummerianaOmphalocera munroeirhizomesrametscanopytreefall gapAmerican beechstriped mapleNatureServe global conservation rankthreatened speciesendangered speciesNew JerseyCanadaNatureServe subnational conservation rankOntario Ministry of Natural Resourceswoody plantschestnutecological restoration plantingsriparianerosionintroduced speciesbamboo