161 



The tulip transplants easily, grows rapidly, tall and with short side 

 branches. Experiments in growing this tree indicate that it is one of 

 the very best trees for reinforcing the woodlot, and other forest planting. 

 It can be recommended for roadside planting because it grows tall and 

 has a deep root system. Where conditions of life are not too severe it 

 could be used for shade tree planting. 



ANONACEAE. The Custard Apple Family. 

 ASIMINA. The Pawpaw. 



Asimina triloba (Linnaeus) Dunal. Pawpaw. Plate 68. 

 Shrubs or small trees; bark smooth except on very old trees when it 

 becomes somewhat furrowed; twigs at first covered with rusty brown 

 hairs, becoming glabrous and redchsh-brown by the end of the season; 

 leaves obovate-lanceolate, average blades 16-30 cm. long, abruptly 

 taper-pointed, wedge-shape at base, margins entire, somewhat rusty 

 pubescent at first, becoming at maturity glabrous above, and glabrous 

 or nearly so beneath; flowers appear in May or early June, maroon 

 color, drooping; fruit edible, ripening in September and October, 7-13 

 cm. long, greenish-yellow, smooth, pulp white or yellow, with a few 

 large, dark-brown flattened seeds; wood light, soft and weak. 



Distribution. — New York, north shore of Lake Erie, southern 

 Michigan, Nebraska, south to Florida and west to Texas. Found in all 

 parts of Indiana, although it is found in the greatest abundance in the 

 central counties. It prefers a moist rich soil, although it is quite 

 adaptive. Sometimes it is found in a black loam soil in low woods or 

 about lakes, but its preference is for a beech and sugar maple woods or 

 habitats approximating it. In the southern counties it is absent on the 

 sterile wooded ridges, but may be a common shrub at the base of the 

 slopes. It is a constant companion of the tulip tree and where one will 

 grow the other is likely to be found. It is a great tree to send up 

 suckers, hence it is always found in clumps, or forms real thickets. 

 This species with us is usually 2-7 meters high; however, there are 

 records of large trees. Collett in Ind. Geol. Rept. 5:404:1874, in a 

 geological report of Gibson County says: "A forest of pawpaw bushes 

 attracted our attention by their tree-like size, being nearly a foot in 

 diameter." 



Remarks. — This species is also known as the yellow and white paw- 

 paw. Recently some enthusiasts have christened it the "Hoosier 

 Banana". There has been an attempt for j^ears to cultivate the paw- 

 paw, and some varieties have been named. The fruit is variable. The 

 one with a white pulp is rather insipid and is not considered good to eat. 

 The form with a yellow pulp is the kind that is regarded as the most pal- 



