Fruit is quite edible, ..Matter of fact: chilled fruit was a dessert favorite of George Washington. Ripens in late Aug, early Sept. Has a sweet custard-ish flavor similar to banana, mango, & cantaloupe. Unfortunately, it has a very short shelf-life. I believe it is North America's largest indigenous edible fruit.
Fruits should manifest in tree's 6th or 7th year.
Native to eastern North America and the Midwest.
It is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitats.

Young trees are susceptible to sun damage the first 2 years. To remedy that I planted Kong Sunflowers in the same area I planted 2 trees. These sunflowers grow so tall so fast, they performed an admiral job of shade protection. Being self seeders, the sunflowers returned to fulfill said duty the following year.

It's been 6 years and I'm still waiting...Flowered and fruited years 7 and 8. (Updated fall 2013).

Another positive about the Paw Paw is that it is the exclusive food source for the larvae of the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. By consuming paw paw the butterflies ingest a chemical that makes them unpalatable to birds and other predators.

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Pollination can be a limiting factor in fruit set of Pawpaws as they are thought to be self-incompatible. Two or more genetically different trees are needed for best chance of a good crop.

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The seeds of the pawpaw are large, as much as an inch long, with a brown leathery appearance.

The fruit is not ripe until its outer covering is very dark colored, much like an overripe banana. Inside it's a golden yellow fleshy fruit and delicious with its near tropical flavor. It can also be made into sweet custards and eaten as a flavorful dessert.

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Usually a small understory tree in upland woods or fields from southern Pennsylvania down through northern Georgia and central Alabama & Mississippi, areas of Louisiana and far east Texas up in eastern Kansas & southeast Nebraska to along the Mississippi between Iowa & Illinois through southern Michigan into the tip of southern Ontario and all around Lake Erie. I have seen it in the wild in just some localized areas, not spread out everywhere. It grows about 1 foot/year and lives about 150 years. Its root system produces deep, coarse lateral roots so transplanting is sort of difficult, best done in early spring. It is a very interesting sort of tropical-looking tree with a large, delicious fruit tasting like banana. A few people grow it in their yard for its fruit. The only landscapes in which I have seen it used are in arboretums and botanical gardens; it should be used more as an ornamental tree. A few large, diverse nurseries, a good number of mail order nurseries, and some native plant nurseries sell it.

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Pawpaw name originated with Arawakan Indians.

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