Pawpaw Trees: America's Forgotten Native Fruit

Pawpaw is North America's largest native tree fruit, but there's much more to this unusual understory tree than its fruit. In this video, I explore the wild pawpaws growing in my woods, how pawpaw colonies spread, their unusual pollination by flies and beetles, and why genetically different trees are needed for fruit production. I also look at several of my cultivated pawpaws, including NC-1, Sunflower, Wells, and Shenandoah, along with planting, sun protection, hand pollination, and protecting developing fruit. Finally, I cut open and taste a ripe pawpaw and look at another important connection—the zebra swallowtail butterfly.