Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Unique moderate-growing understory tree native to the Easter half of the US. Known as North America's "tropical fruit". Round, upright pyramid shape, with moderate dense foliage and coarse texture when planted far apart in full sun. These trees mature to a height 15 to 20 feet, 15 to 20 feet wide; can grow to 30 to 40 feet tall in ideal locations. The hefty green kidney shaped fruits averaging 5" long ripen in fall. The fruit taste like a hybrid of a banana and mango and is in the Custard Apple plant family. Fresh pulp is fantastic in puddings, smoothies, fruit breads as well as for producing fruit vinegars and other ferments. 

Pawpaws prefers moist, well-drained or sandy soil types, and naturally colonize in thickets in the woodland understory around springs, creeks and bottomlands. Their foliage changes to deep greens to yellow before they shed. 

These attributes make the pawpaw a great tree to include in an integrated agroforestry system, ecological restorations, food plot enhancement, and a specimen that attracts and support wildlife. 

Zones 5-9