Get to Know Our Natives by Nature
This month, we will Get to Know the Pawpaw tree
Scientific name: Asimina triloba
Other common names: common pawpaw, custard apple
What pawpaw looks like
Size and shape
Reaches 10 metres high.
Trunk reaches up to 30 centimetres in diameter.
Leaves
Green, thin leaves with reddish-brown hairs (15 to 30 centimetres).
Smell unpleasant when bruised.
Bark
Thin, smooth and dark brown with grey blotches when young.
Becomes rough with age.
Flowers
Reddish-purple flowers (4 centimeters) grow in clusters.
Are attached directly to the stem.
Have an unpleasant odour.
Fruit
Cylindrical, yellow-green, fleshy berries (up to 12 centimetres) grow individually or in clusters.
Each fruit contains several flattened, dark brown seeds.
Where pawpaw is found
Pawpaw is a Carolinian species found in Southwestern Ontario near Lake Erie and in the Niagara Region.
What you need to know to grow pawpaw
Moisture: grows best in moist, well-drained soils.
Soil: grows best in nutrient-rich soil with acidic to neutral pH.
Shade: grows best in part shade.
Caution: pawpaw trees are not self-pollinating and have few natural pollinators, which can limit fruit production.
Benefits and uses of pawpaw
Wildlife benefits
Pawpaw fruit is a food source for many species, including:
opossum
fox
squirrel
raccoon
Pawpaw trees are the host plant of the zebra swallowtail butterfly.
Fun facts about pawpaw
Pawpaw sap contains toxic chemicals that prevent herbivores and insects from eating their leaves.
Pawpaw fruit is said to taste like a combination of banana, pineapple and mango.
The fruit are the largest of any native tree in North America.
The unpleasant smell of the flowers attracts beetles and flies as pollinators.
