Photo: Scott Bauer, USDA, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
Also called common pawpaw, indiana banana.
The largest native fruit in North America, custard-sweet and tropical, on an understory tree of rich bottomlands.
EdibleWildlife valueShowy flowersTolerates shade
- Type
- Small tree
- Mature height
- 15–30 ft
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Sun
- Part · Shade · Full
- Soil moisture
- Average · Wet
210
Pawpaw fruit tastes of banana, mango and vanilla and ripens in September. The tree grows in colonies in the shade of river woods, with big drooping leaves and maroon spring flowers that host the zebra swallowtail. Young trees need shade for the first two summers; mature trees fruit best in sun. Plant two unrelated seedlings for pollination.
Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. Estimate growth for this species →
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