Paw-paw: The Strange Tropical-Like Fruit That Grows Wild In Alabama

Some people say they taste like a mixture of strawberries and bananas, while others say they're more like mangoes. They're difficult to grow commercially and even more difficult to ship, so they're seldom found in stores. Although they seem more like tropical fruits, they're actually native to Alabama and most of the eastern U.S. Did I mention that although the fruit is delicious, the blooms on the tree smell like death? More on that later. They'll be in season soon, around the end of summer. It's time to find the elusive Paw-Paw fruit.

Paw-paw fruitPhoto byCBarlow (wiki commons)

What Is A Paw-Paw Fruit?
So, what exactly is this strange fruit? It's been the subject of song and legend in the South for generations. If you've got an inkling of Southern raising, you've probably heard the very old folk song:

Way Down Yonder In The Pawpaw Patch
Where, oh, where is sweet little Susie?
Where, oh, where is sweet little Susie?
Where, oh, where is sweet little Susie?
Way down yonder in the paw paw patch!
Come on, boys and let's go find her...
Come on, boys and let's go find her...
Come on, boys and let's go find her...
Way down yonder in the paw paw patch! .
Pickin' up paw paws, put 'em in your pocket...
Pickin' up paw paws, put 'em in your pocket...
Pickin' up paw paws, put 'em in your pocket...
Way down yonder in the paw paw patch!

The paw-paw fruit is the largest fruit native to North America. It's also called the Indian Banana, the American Custard Apple, and my very favorite (drum roll, please)...the "Hillbilly Mango!" The paw-paw tree (Asimina trilob), when mature, produces fruit that is about 2" wide and can grow up to 10" long, although most that I've seen are usually the size of a kiwi fruit. They ripen in the late summer to early fall and turn from green to yellow and then black. Yellow indicates when they are ripe. The inside of the fruit is mushy, like a really ripe banana. I've always heard the seeds make you sick. The Peterson field guide says the seeds are emetic, so yeah, don't eat the seeds. 

Pawpaw fruit unripenedPhoto byScott Bauer USDA (wiki commons)

How To Prepare It 
The fruit can be peeled and eaten raw, but it's a southern favorite for making homemade ice cream and pie filling. The very best thing to make is paw-paw custard. Just remove the seeds, mash the fruit, add some cream (or milk), some egg, sugar, and allspice, then bake in custard cups sitting in a water bath in the oven so they don't burn. When a toothpick stuck in the center of the custard comes out clean, they're done!

Where Do They Grow?
The best place to find a paw-paw tree is in an old-growth forest near a water source such as a lake, creek, or river. Low, river-bottom forests are ideal. The tree does best under the canopy of larger trees. The reason old-growth forests are the best place to find them is because the trees are very sensitive to ultraviolet light. Once a forest has been cleared, the paw-paw tree rarely grows back because the unfiltered light is too harsh. They grow all across Alabama but seem to be more common in the upper half of the state.

Paw-paw fruitPhoto byWiki commons

What Does The Tree Look Like?
The tree can grow up to 30 feet tall, but most trees are much smaller. In fact, many field guides often refer to it as a shrub rather than a tree - perhaps best described as a sapling. Deer and other wildlife avoid eating the leaves, but love the fruit and give a lot of competition for finding it in the wild. The paw-paw tree is actually very common, but finding one that produces fruit can be a big challenge. This is why, according to the National Park Service:

Pawpaw is self-incompatible, which means that pollen produced on a plant cannot pollinate flowers on the same plant. Instead, to produce fruit, a pawpaw flower must receive pollen from flowers on another tree, and sometimes this “other tree” is farther away than it may appear at first glance!

Pawpaw treePhoto byPufacz (wiki commons)

Your Nose Will Lead You To it—Or Away From It!
Here's the one icky thing about the paw-paw tree and the reason some people steer clear of having the tree on their property. The blooms that produce such sweet, lovely fruit smell like rotting carcasses. They stink, but there's a reason. The horrible smell of the dark, purplish-brown flowers attracts the insects needed for pollination.

Paw-paw flowerPhoto byWiki commons

Have You Tried It?
The strange fruit has seen a resurgence in the past decade with the popularity of foraging. Many nurseries now carry varieties of the paw-paw tree, too. A small tree can be transplanted from the wild in the dormant season, but be aware, again, that paw-paw trees are not self-pollinating, so few trees produce fruit. That's another reason the paw-paw is difficult to cultivate. Your best chance of finding the paw-paw fruit is to put on the snake boots and go find them in the wild. Have you tried paw-paw fruit? Leave a note in the comments!

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