Paw Paw

Asimina triloba

Other Names:  Pawpaw Apple, False-Banana, Poor Man's Banana

Description:

Small spreading tree with delicious edible fruit, similar in taste to a banana/pear with a custard consistency; fruit is sweet, rich, high in vitamins, however flowers can have a disagreeable fetid odor; tree is a host for the zebra swallowtail butterfly. 

Edible Qualities

Common Paw Paw is a small tree that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces large green oblong fruit with creamy white flesh which are usually ready for picking from mid to late summer. The fruits have a sweet taste with a mushy texture and a pleasant fragrance. Common Paw Paw features unusual lightly-scented nodding purple flowers from mid to late spring. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The large oval leaves turn an outstanding lemon yellow in the fall. It features an abundance of magnificent green berries from mid to late summer. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up.  This is a multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage. This is a high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. 

Photo: Courtesy of Canadale Nursery