![]() These old Appalachian lyricshave been sung around many a campfire, including the Girl Scout jamborees of my childhood. ![]() It’s an overlooked legacy from Mother Nature that harks back to gentler times, when bonneted girls and straw-hatted boys went fruit picking in bare feet on summer mornings. Professor Bruce Bordelon, of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University, concurs with the warnings and says, “When it comes to pawpaw, perhaps it is best to enjoy the fruit in moderation.” “Way Down Yonder”Īt a length of up to six inches, the pawpaw is North America’s largest native fruit. In addition to fresh fruit and frozen pulp, extracts are available in pill form for the purported purpose of boosting cell health. Instead, it’s the domain of small-scale farmers and home growers who often supply it to farmers markets. Pawpaw fruit perishes quickly after ripening, so it is not currently a commonplace grocery store commodity. However, Sloan Kettering advises its cancer patients: “There are no published clinical studies in humans to determine the safety of pawpaw for cancer treatment,” and goes on to warn patients who wish to consume the fruit that they may experience allergic reactions, neurotoxic effects, or vomiting if they do. In addition, the pulp and twigs contain acetogenins, metabolic compounds toxic to some cancer cells. The NC State Extension categorizes the level of toxicity from eating pawpaw as low, with the summary: “Fruit edible but some people suffer severe stomach and intestinal pain skin irritation from handling fruit.” This is due to the chemical compound annonacin, which is also present in the bark and seeds. Visit find a nursery in your area.And while the fruit has an appealing flavor, there are some people for whom consumption causes stomach upset. Netted pawpaw is occasionally available from nurseries that specialize in Florida native plants. It is drought-tolerant once established, but cannot withstand exposure to salt. Garden tips:Netted pawpaw is suitable for naturalistic landscapes as well as butterfly gardens. Soil: Dry to moist, well-drained sandy soils To see where natural populations of Netted pawpaw have been vouchered, visit. Native range: Peninsula, from Bradford County south to Miami-Dade Hamilton County Check out his website for more information on edibility, as well as historical uses of the plant.įamily: Annonaceae (Custard apple or soursop family) *According to renowned forager Green Dean, pawpaw fruit should be eaten with caution as some people have an allergic reaction to it. The species epithet reticulata and the common descriptor “netted” refer to the plant’s reticulated or “netted” leaf veins. Seeds are born in yellowish-green oblong to cylindrical berries. Mature leaves are elliptic to oblong, leathery, and have a glabrous upper surface and few orange hairs on the underside. Young leaf uppers are sparsely covered in orange hairs undersides are densely covered. The blooms are axillary, nodding and appear before leaves emerge. ![]() Inner petals are small, fleshy and generally upright or inward pointing. ![]() The three outer petals are large, oblong and outward spreading. ![]() Netted pawpaw’s fragrant showy flowers are creamy white with six petals. ![]()
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