by Heather Raithby Doyle
Pawpaws native to this area (Asimina triloba) are having a moment. The fruit from these small trees, whose seeds were once distributed through the poop of mastodons and other ice-age megafauna, have become a source of fascination and desire for those in the know.
The fruit is hard to find commercially. There are reasons that pawpaws are, well, hard to get your paws on. One is the fruit does not travel well, edible for only a few days once ripe since it starts to ferment. It can, however, be frozen. The fruit also ripens one at a time, making mass picking impossible. The few which reach the market get snapped up by avid buyers. But if you live in Southern Ontario you could grow a patch of your own! Blooming Boulevards is a host of Carolinian Canada’s Annual Pawpaw Parade where you can win or buy pawpaw trees.
Blooming Boulevards distributed four pairs of pawpaws to Kira and other lucky local winners of Carolinian Canada's Pawpaw Parade giveaway. BB volunteer Nancy picked up baby pawpaws donated by a local grower. These will be overwintered and available to purchase at our June 2025 plant sale! Photos: Jeanne McRight
The taste of a pawpaw is described, variously, as banana-like with hints of pineapple and mango. A strangely tropical vibe for our northern climate, they also have a unique yeasty flavour and a custardy texture chefs are salivating over.
High in vitamins and micronutrients, the pawpaw is a coveted fruit with a rich history. Pawpaw trees shared their destiny with Indigenous people who ate the fruit and dried it for use on hunting expeditions and for when food would be scarce. It is thought the fruit travelled with Indigenous groups which expanded the range of the pawpaw. Indigenous people knew the secret powers of the pawpaw: the fruit helped cure intestinal parasites, seeds got rid of lice, and crushed leaves treated skin ulcers. The fibrous wood was turned into fishing nets, ropes, baskets, clothing and mats. The seeds were even part of a game whose rules have sadly been lost.
Fun facts:
Did you know pawpaws are North America's largest native fruit?
Scientists are currently exploring how a toxin in the pawpaw tree, acetogenin, could inhibit cancer.
Scientists believe the flowers are pollinated by small beetles because of the flower shape, and carrion flies which are attracted to the maroon blooms. Some growers pollinate by hand.
Thinking of growing them? You should know pawpaws are self-incompatible, which means they need at least two different plants to produce fruit. The male and female flowers are present on each tree but they are protogynous meaning the female stigma is no longer receptive when the male pollen is shed.
They need shade, even deep shade, to get established, but thrive in the sun once they are mature.
If you plant a pawpaw from seed be patient: they take seven years to flower. Some nurseries sell grafted pawpaws which could flower in two to three years. Once established, pawpaws can form large colonies in rich soil and are deer and insect-resistant. The deep tap roots make them useful for stabilizing creek beds.
Interestingly the larvae of the zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) feed exclusively on the Asimina triloba and other pawpaws. How thrilling would that be to host a zebra swallowtail here someday? iNaturalist records only one observation of a zebra swallowtail in Canada, in Leamington Ontario in 2012. Residents of Pittsburgh, PA planted pawpaws to bring back the zebra swallowtail with success in 2024.
The Zebra Swallowtail female chooses young terminal leaves of the pawpaw on which to lay her eggs. The eggs are laid singly, one per leaf, because if the caterpillars encounter each other, they become cannibalistic. Those young pawpaw leaves and their stem bark are especially rich in acetogenins, chemicals that make the foliage unpalatable to browsers, like deer and rabbits, and the leaf-munching caterpillars distasteful to potential predators.
There are many great reasons to grow a pawpaw patch - curiosity, to eat the fruit, for a step towards reconciliation with Indigenous people, to restore a native tree to its habitat, or to lure a butterfly. Maybe someday we will all get to taste a pawpaw and appreciate its place in our city once again.
Comments