Paw Paw: The Prairie Banana of North America

This fruit grow on trees that range in height from 2-meters to as high as 12-meters tall. The tree probably derives it name from the early Spanish whom noted a similarity of shape of these fruits to papayas, although the genus “Asimina” is not related to the true papaya.

This fruit is also known by these names:

Paw-paw, papaw, Indiana or Hoosier fruit, prairie banana, and Ozark banana. In addition to Indiana, the fruit carries other state names of Michigan banana, Missouri banana, Kentucky banana and West Virginia banana.

The southern varieties of paw paw are evergreen trees that do not shed their leaves, but the northern acclimated variety Asimina trilobaa is deciduous. They are cold-weather resistant, and shed their leaves in the fall.

The fruit of the paw paw is an edible berry that grows up to 16cm long and has a taste similar to that of a banana / mango cross. The paw-paw has more protein than most fruits. Green when unripe, it matures into a yellow or brown color and the flavor varies between cultivars depending upon climate and soils. The ripe flesh of the paw paw can be substituted equally in recipes that call for bananas. Mmm…banana bread, banana cream pie! Hmm, paw paw bread? Paw paw cream pie? Did you know that you can even make BEER from paw paw fruit? Now that I would enjoy and it transports easily.

Paw Paw Fruit

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Paw Paw Flower

The flowers of the paw paw are pollinated by certain flies and beetles attracted to the stinky odor of the flowers. This is why cultivation of these unique trees is not so common as they require a pollinator that is attracted to the unpleasant scent. Bees apparently are not. Often, to attract suitable pollinators the cultivar will hang chicken necks in the paw paw trees to decay and thus, attract the desired pollinators. Paw paw are not self-fertilizing so they require groves of the same tree nearby for cross-pollination to be possible. But if a grove of paw paw is left unchecked, they propagate into localized clusters or colonies.

The paw paw has never been cultivated extensively, not like other fruit trees of greater renown. This might account for why it has never reached consumers outside of local regions, and that they might not even know about paw paws. The fruit does not keep, store or ship well either. This is probably due to its soft flesh when ripe. The process of freezing the mashed fruit pulp solves this transportation problem at least partially. If you think about it, what if apples could only be transported in 'applesauce' form? Apples would not be so popular as a result due to this restricted form. Applesauce would make for excellent baked goods like apple cake, but it would not do well for apple pie or fruit bowls. Such is the case with paw paws unless they are cultivated locally and are available very near the intended consumer.

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The long tap root of the paw paw tree makes it somewhat difficult to transport/relocate successfully, so cultivars generally propagate them by the methods of chip-budding or whip-grafting. Its naturally-deep tap-root is an likely adaptation to the south-eastern United States, a region which frequently experiences hurricanes and related flood-swells and out west, tornadoes. The ability of the tree to be somewhat resistant to the high winds and inclement weather of these regions would make them a logical choice for cultivating locally in these areas. It reduces the risk of total crop failure after bad hurricane or flood years.

Paw Paw Seeds

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The paw paw seeds contain a substance which is a natural insect repellent. Some hair shampoos use paw paw seed ingredients for this very purpose (head lice control.) The ability to repel insects makes the paw paw tree not require much pesticide treatment, thus making them ideal for organic cultivars should they ever decide to take a more commercial role for the versatile fruit. Wild animals such as deer, raccoon and foxes will eat the fruit, they tend however to leave the branches and leaves alone due to the taste. This at least limits damage to a paw paw orchard to just loss of fruit sustainable, and not destruction or damage of the trees themselves.

The chilled fruit of the paw paw is said to have been a favorite dessert of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Recently, after lobbying by the Ohio PawPaw Growers Association for nearly three years, the PawPaw was named the Ohio state native fruit.

I find myself eager now to find paw paws on my next vacation in the south and try it. I want to see what all the fuss is about and chances are I’ll want to collect the seeds and possibly start my own local colony of Paw Paw fruit trees.

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