[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

TT: Hoosier Banana?

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
What a great tree to start off the year!  Pawpaw, Asimina triloba,
Annonaceae, is also known in Kentucky as papaw (also a term for
grandfather), and Hoosier banana.  These two terms are endless sources of
amusement to my students. "Hoosier banana?"  "I don't know, who's yours?"
(There are less polite versions of this a la Mae West). Another name is
possum haw.

Pawpaw is a small understory tree that reproduces clonally in patches
(there's an old fiddle tune called "Chicken in the Pawpaw patch).  It has a
very tropical appearance, with its large entire leaves, and indeed it is a
member of the important tropical family Annonaceae.  This family includes
such important fruits as soursop, custard apple and cheremoya.  Carolyn's
pawpaw, Carica papaya, is known in North America as papaya, one of the most
important of all tropical fruits.  Carica papaya is a member of the family
Caricaceae, and the plant is a sub-tree, or giant herb.

Among the 8 species of Asimina, four-petal pawpaw, Asimina tetramera, is
globally endangered, now occuring only in a single county park and a few
private tracts in North Florida.  Prospects for recovery of the species are
good, as it propagates readily from seed and cuttings.

Pawpaw is, as Gary points out, a delicious fruit, if you can outcompete the
possums.  It is the largest of all native fruits in the Eastern Deciduous
Forest, excluding our friend Osage-orange.  It makes excellent pie and
pudding, as well as being a superb fruit for eating out of the hand.

Pawpaw has been cultivated in a small way since the 19th century. There is a
hobby group, the Pawpaw Foundation, as well as small research projects at
Kentucky State University and the University of Maryland.

Pawpaw can be a lovely ornamental in a large, naturalized landscape,
provided it has adequate shade and little or no soil compaction.  I have
seen it do very well in cities.

Here are some links for more information:
        The TreeWeb pawpaw page:
http://quercus.uky.edu/treeweb/species/astril.htm
        The GardenWeb pawpaw page:
            http://www.au.gardenweb.com/cyberplt/plants/pawpaw.html
        Four Petal pawpaw from the Fish and Wildlife Service:
            http://www.fws.gov/~r9endspp/i/q/saq3q.html





Tom Kimmerer
Forest Biologist
University of Kentucky
Lexington KY 40546
Ph:    606-257-1824
Fax:    606-323-1031
tkimmer@pop.uky.edu
Visit the TreeWeb at http://quercus.uky.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Letteron <glue39@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us>
To: treetown@majordomo.flora.com <treetown@majordomo.flora.com>
Date: Sunday, January 11, 1998 11:51 PM
Subject: TT: Paw Paw


> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>       Pickin' up Paw Paws, put 'em in your pocket ...
>                                 Traditional US Folk Tune
>
>OK, Richard and I are discussing Paw Paws!  Not that this needs to
>be of any concern to TreeTown, but we thought we might mention it.
>
>The name (Paw Paw) cames from the American Indians; they knew a
>good thing when they saw it.  And the best planting we know of is
>at Theodore Roosevelt Island, Washington DC's memorial to Pres
>Teddy.
>
>Universally, nobody has ever heard of a Paw Paw.  This is because
>they don't last too long after picking and don't transport well to
>your local grocery store.  Currently, there is no economic
>viability here.  But rumor has it that the Maryland Department of
>Natural Resources has/ had a "Paw Paw Research Center" in western
>Maryland, dedicated to developing a cultivar that produces
>marketable fruite, i.e. fruite that can be shipped to market.
>
>I'm not sure about this marketable idea.  Somethings shouldn't be
>shared with mainstream consumer America.  There is nothing like
>chancing upon ripe, delectable (clandestine) Paw Paws in the
>forest.  Buying them in our supermarket could only cheapen the
>experience!
>
>Paw Paws are technically a berry (got that Mr. Goldwater?).  They
>are two to five inches long, and reminiscent of bananas (or green
>papaya), also known as Custard-Apple.  Yum!
>
>Are we alone out here?  There are eight species of Paw Paw, but
>only seven wonders of the world.  What gives?
>
>Gotta go Paw,
>
>-=G=- and -=R=-
>
>
> ==============================(TreeTown)===============================
>


 ==============================(TreeTown)===============================
Follow-Ups: