common pawpaw
Asimina triloba
The pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to North America, tasting like a tropical blend of banana, mango, and cantaloupe.
- Scientific name
- Asimina triloba
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Magnoliales › Annonaceae › Asimina
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Rich, moist bottomland forests, floodplains, and shady hardwood understories.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (Autotroph)
- Range
- Eastern United States, Southern Ontario, Canada
- Size
- Small understory tree growing 5 to 10 meters (15 to 30 feet) tall.
- Lifespan
- 30 to 50 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, land development, and competition from invasive plant species.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and safe to approach. The ripe, soft fruit is edible and delicious, but do not eat the skin or the large black seeds, as they contain toxic acetogenins. Touching the leaves may cause mild skin irritation in sensitive individuals; if a rash develops, wash the affected area with soap and water.
Asimina triloba , the papaw , pawpaw , paw paw , paw-paw , or common pawpaw , is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit. It belongs to the genus Asimina in the same plant family (the Annonaceae) as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang and soursop.
Photo: Wendell Smith, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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