This page refers to the U. S. pawpaw in the genus Asimina. In some other parts of the world, the name pawpaw is applied to the unrelated tropical fruit papaya (Carica papaya). The papaya (from Carib via Spanish) is the Fruit of the Plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica.

Pawpaw
Common Pawpaw in fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Magnoliales Family: Annonaceae Genus: Asimina Adans.
Species
See text

Pawpaw (Asimina) is a genus of eight or nine species of small trees with large leaves and fruit, native to eastern North America. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Magnoliopsida is the Botanical name for a class of Flowering plants By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its Magnoliales is an order of Flowering plants Classification The Magloliales includes six families Annonaceae (custard apple family Annonaceae family also called custard apple family is a family of Flowering plants consisting of Trees Shrubs or rarely woody Lianas Michel Adanson ( April 7, 1727 - August 3, 1806) was a French naturalist of Scottish descent A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or The genus includes the largest edible fruit indigenous to the continent. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. They are understory trees found in deep fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat. Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a Forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or forest canopy. Pawpaw is in the same family (Annonaceae) as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, and soursop, and it is the only member of that family not confined to the tropics. Annonaceae family also called custard apple family is a family of Flowering plants consisting of Trees Shrubs or rarely woody Lianas The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the Fruit of the tree Annona reticulata. The cherimoya ( Annona cherimola) is a species of Annona Annona squamosa (also called Sugar-apple, or Sweetsop) is a species of Annona native to the tropical Americas The soursop ( Spanish guanábana, Portuguese graviola) Annona muricata; Syn The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23

Names

The name, also spelled paw paw, paw-paw, and papaw, probably derives from the Spanish papaya, perhaps due to the superficial similarity of their fruit. The papaya (from Carib via Spanish) is the Fruit of the Plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. Pawpaw has numerous other common names, often very local, such as prairie banana, Indiana (Hoosier) banana, Kentucky banana, Michigan banana, and Ozark banana.

Description

The pawpaws are shrubs or small trees, reaching heights of 2 to 12 m tall. The northern, cold-tolerant common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is deciduous, while the southern species are often evergreen. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round

The leaves are alternate, simple ovate, entire, 20 to 35 cm long and 10 to 15 cm broad. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis.

The fetid flowers are produced singly or in clusters of up to eight together; they are large, 4 to 6 cm across, perfect, with six sepals and petals (three large outer petals, three smaller inner petals). Carrion flowers or Stinking flowers are flowers that emit an odor that smells like rotting flesh A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also The petal color varies from white to purple or red-brown.

The fruit is a large edible berry, 5 to 16 cm long and 3 to 7 cm broad, weighing from 20 to 500 g, with numerous seeds; it is green when unripe, maturing to yellow or brown. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The word berry has two meanings one based on a botanical definition the other on common identification A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored It has a flavor somewhat similar to both banana and mango, varying significantly by cultivar, and has more protein than most fruits. For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting Trees in the Flowering plant family Anacardiaceae Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl

• Bark: Dark brown, blotched with gray spots, sometimes covered with small excrescences, divided by shallow fissures. Inner bark tough, fibrous. Branchlets light brown, tinged with red, marked by shallow grooves.
• Wood: Pale, greenish yellow, sapwood lighter; light, soft, coarse-grained and spongy. Sp. gr. , 0. 3969; weight of cu. ft. 24. 74 lbs.
• Winter buds: Small, brown, acuminate, hairy.
• Leaves: Alternate, simple, feather-veined, obovate-lanceolate, ten to twelve inches long, four to five broad, wedge-shaped at base, entire, acute at apex; midrib and primary veins prominent. They come out of the bud conduplicate, green, covered with rusty tomentum beneath, hairy above; when full grown are smooth, dark green above, paler beneath. In autumn they are a rusty yellow. Petioles short and stout with a prominent adaxial groove. Stipules wanting.
• Flowers: April, with the leaves. Perfect, solitary, axillary, rich red purple, two inches across, borne on stout, hairy peduncles. Ill smelling.
• Calyx: Sepals three, valvate in bud, ovate, acuminate, pale green, downy.
• Corolla: Petals six, in two rows, imbricate in the bud. Inner row acute, erect, nectariferous. Outer row broadly ovate, reflexed at maturity. Petals at first are green, then brown, and finally become dull purple and conspicuously veiny.
• Stamens: Indefinite, densely packed on the globular receptacle. Filaments short; anthers extrorse, two-celled, opening longitudinally.
• Pistils: Several, on the summit of the receptacle, projecting from the mass of stamens. Ovary one-celled; stigma sessile; ovules many.
• Fruit: September, October. Cotyledons broad, five-lobed. ^[1]

Cultivation

Pollinated by scavenging carrion flies and beetles, the flowers emit a weak scent which attracts few pollinators, thus limiting fruit production. Pollination in angiosperms and Gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen grains, which contain the male Gametes (sperm to where the female Beetles are the group of Insects with the largest number of known Species. A pollinator is the biotic agent ( vector) that moves Pollen from the male Anthers of a Flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish

Larger growers sometimes locate rotting meat near the trees at bloom time to increase the number of blowflies. Asimina triloba is the only larval host of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. The Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly ( Eurytides marcellus, other authorities list the species under genera in the family including Iphiclides, Graphium and

Species

• Asimina angustifolia Raf. - Slimleaf Pawpaw. Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz, as he is known in Europe ( October 22 1783 - September 18 1840) was a nineteenth-century Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America.
• Asimina incana (W. Bartram) Exell - Woolly Pawpaw. William Bartram ( April 20, 1739 — July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, the son of John Bartram. Florida and Georgia.
  • Annona incana W. Bartram^[2]
• Asimina obovata (Willd.) Nash - Bigflower Pawpaw. Carl Ludwig Willdenow ( 22 August 1765 - 10 July 1812) was a German Botanist, Pharmacist, and plant taxonomist George Valentine Nash ( May 6, 1864 - July 15, 1921) was an American Botanist. Florida.
  • Annona obovata Willd. ^[3]
• Asimina parviflora (Michx.) Dunal - Smallflower Pawpaw. André Michaux (8 March 1746&ndashprobably 11 October 1802 was a French botanist and Explorer. Michel Felix Dunal (1789-1856 was a French Botanist. He was Professor of Botany in Montpellier, France. Southern states from Texas to Virginia. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state
• Asimina pygmea (W. Bartram) Dunal - Dwarf Pawpaw. Florida and Georgia.
• Asimina reticulata Shuttlw. ex Chapman - Netted Pawpaw. Florida and Georgia.
• Asimina tetramera Small - Fourpetal Pawpaw. UserPolbot. --> Asimina tetramera (also called Four-petal Pawpaw) is a species of Plant in the Annonaceae John Kunkel Small (January 31 1869- January 20 1938 was an American Botanist. Florida (Endangered)
• Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal - Common Pawpaw. The Common pawpaw ( Asimina triloba) is a species of pawpaw, native to eastern North America, from southernmost Ontario and New York Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Extreme southern Ontario, Canada, and the eastern United States from New York west to southeast Nebraska, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and
  • Annona triloba L. ^[4]

Cultivation and uses

Asimina triloba is often called Prairie Banana because of its banana-like creamy texture and flavor.

The pawpaw's chosen home is in the shade of the rich bottom lands of the Mississippi valley, where it often forms a dense undergrowth in the forest. Where it dominates a tract it appears as a thicket of small slender trees, whose great leaves are borne so close together at the ends of the branches, and which cover each other so symmetrically, that the effect is to give a peculiar imbricated appearance to the tree. ^[1]

Although it is a delicious and nutritious fruit, it has never been cultivated on the scale of apples and peaches, primarily because it does not store or ship well. It is also difficult to transplant due to its long taproot. A Plant 's taproot is a straight tapering Root that grows vertically down Cultivars are propagated by chip budding or whip grafting. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar Grafting is a method of asexual Plant propagation widely used in Agriculture and Horticulture where the tissues of one Plant are encouraged to

In recent years the pawpaw has attracted renewed interest, particularly among organic growers, as a native fruit which has few pests, and which therefore requires little pesticide use for cultivation. Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on Crop rotation, Green manure, Compost, Biological pest control, and mechanical Cultivation A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest. The shipping and storage problem has largely been addressed by pulping the fruit and freezing the pulp. Among backyard gardeners it also is gaining in popularity because of the appeal of fresh fruit and because it is relatively low maintenance once planted. The pulp is used primarily in baked dessert recipes, as well as for brewing pawpaw beer. In many recipes calling for bananas, pawpaw can be used with volumetric equivalency.

The commercial growing and harvesting of pawpaws is strongest in southeast Ohio. The Ohio Pawpaw Growers' Association annually sponsors the Ohio Pawpaw Festival at Lake Snowden near Albany, Ohio. Albany is a village in Athens County, Ohio, United States. The population was 808 at the 2000 census.

The flowers are self-incompatible, requiring cross pollination; at least two different varieties of the plant are needed as pollenizers. Pollination in angiosperms and Gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen grains, which contain the male Gametes (sperm to where the female A pollenizer or polleniser, sometimes pollinizer or polliniser (see spelling differences) is a Plant that provides Pollen The flowers produce an odor similar to that of rotting meat to attract blowflies or carrion beetles for cross pollination. Decomposition (or spoilage) refers to the break down of tissue of a formerly living Organism into simpler forms of matter In modern English usage meat most often refers to Animal tissue used as food mostly Skeletal muscle and associated Fat, but it may also refer Silphidae is a family of Beetles commonly known as (black carrion beetles or burying beetles, comprising about 200 Species. Lack of pollination is the most common cause of poor fruiting, and growers resort to hand pollination or to hanging chicken necks or other meat to attract pollinators. A pollinator is the biotic agent ( vector) that moves Pollen from the male Anthers of a Flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish

The leaves, twigs, and bark of the tree also contain natural insecticides known as acetogenins, which can be used to make an organic pesticide. Polyketides are Secondary metabolites from bacteria, Fungi, Plants and Animals Polyketides are biosynthesized by the Pawpaw fruit may be eaten by foxes, possums, squirrels and raccoons. However, pawpaw leaves and twigs are seldom bothered by rabbits or deer.

This colonial tree has a strong tendency to form colonial thickets if left unchecked. "Ramet" redirects here For the commune in Alba County, Romania see Râmeţ.

History

The earliest documentation of pawpaws is in the 1541 report of the de Soto expedition, who found Native Americans cultivating it east of the Mississippi River. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The Lewis and Clark Expedition depended and sometimes subsisted on pawpaws during their travels. Chilled pawpaw fruit was a favorite dessert of George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson was certainly familiar with it as he planted it at Monticello. Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal usually consisting of sweet Food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one such as some Cheeses The George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence Monticello (mɒntəˈtʃɛloʊ located near Charlottesville, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States In 2006, following lobbying by the Ohio Pawpaw Growers' Association, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a law that would have declared the pawpaw to be the state native fruit of Ohio. The Ohio House of Representatives is the Lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U However, the Ohio Senate failed to act on the bill, resulting in its death. The Ohio Senate is the upper house in Ohio 's Bicameral Legislature, the Ohio General Assembly; the lower house is the Ohio House of Representatives

Medicinal properties

Growers hope that potential medical use will eventually lead to increased market demand from the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmacology (from Greek grc φάρμακον pharmakon, "drug" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of how Drugs

The seeds also have insecticidal properties. The Native Americans dried and powdered them and applied the powder to children's heads to control lice; specialized shampoos now use compounds from pawpaw for the same purpose. ^[5]

Recent research has shown that the consumption of tropical Annonaceous fruit may lead to the onset of atypical Parkinson's Disease in humans. Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the Central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's A subsequent study has suggested a possible link between similar phytochemicals as found in parts of the tree and the onset of symptoms in rats. Further research is currently underway to investigate the relationship between Annonaceous compounds and neurodegeneration. No specific research has been conducted on the non-tropical Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal) variety of Annonaceous fruit found in Canada and the Eastern United States. The Common pawpaw ( Asimina triloba) is a species of pawpaw, native to eastern North America, from southernmost Ontario and New York Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[6][7][8][9]

References

External links

• Flora of North America Asimina
• USDA distribution of Pawpaw
• Pawpaw Information from Kentucky State University
• Asimina Genetic Resources
• Clark's September 18, 1806 journal entry about pawpaws
• Links to research on pharmaceutical uses of paw paw
• Asimina triloba - Brooklyn Botanical Garden
• Asimina Genetic Resources - Pawpaw