ILLINOIS TREES: SELECTION. PLANTING, AND CARE 



91 



Fig. 84. — Pawpaw 

 is noted for its at- 

 tractive flowers and 

 nutritious fruit. The 

 smooth, oblong 

 leaves (inset) are 

 sharply pointed. This 

 picture shows a 

 clump planting. 



15-30 feet. It grows in deep, moist soils as an understory tree, 

 frequently in thickets, in deep woods throughout Illinois except 

 for the northern tier of counties. It produces a central leader 

 with small, spreading branches. Pawpaw, used to a limited 

 extent in decorative plantings, has brittle branches and is noted 

 chiefly for its attractive flowers and nutritious fruit. 



The smooth-margined, sharp-pointed, smooth, inverted egg- 

 shaped, alternate leaves (Fig. 84 inset), 8-12 inches long and 

 4-6 inches wide, are light green above and paler beneath. The 

 dark purple, perfect flowers are II/2 inches across and stand 

 singly on stout, hairy stalks which are 1 inch or more in length. 

 The greenish-yellow fruit is 3-5 inches long, IV2-2 inches wid3 

 and turns dark brown upon ripening. The large, hard seeds, up 

 to 1 inch long, are embedded in the whitish to orange-colored, 

 edible flesh. The smooth, dark brown, thin bark may become 

 sparingly fissured on older trees. The wood is very coarse, light, 

 spongy, and of no commercial value. Pawpaw is relatively free 

 of diseases and insect pests. However, the larval stage of the 

 zebra swallowtail (butterfly) feeds on pawpaw. 



