North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Asimina triloba

Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal

common pawpaw, indian-banana, pawpaw

Synonym(s): Orchidocarpum arietinum

Image ID: 12328
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: ASTR
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Asimina triloba
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-08-17

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: ASIMI
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Asimina
GENUS AUTHORITY: Adans.
GENUS COMMON: Pawpaw
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 12 species of shrubs and small trees, endemic to e. North America. Here circumscribed to include Deeringothamnus of peninsular FL; if the genus is to be split into two, the warranted split would be as done by J.K. Small (1933), with Asimina confined to A. triloba and A. parviflora, and all other species, including Deeringothamnus, placed in a second genus. Four additional species occur south of our area in the FL peninsula: A. manasota DeLaney, A. pulchella (Small) Rehder & Dayton, A. rugelii B.L. Robinson, and A. tetramera Small. It is likely that additional taxa will be named.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION: Identification notes: Hybrids are known between some of the pineland species, notably A. angustifolia � incana [= A. �nashii Kral], and should be expected where two species are present. These hybrids are named as binomials and further discussed in DeLaney (2010)
GENUS REFERENCES: DeLaney (2010)=V; Kral (1960)=Z; Wilbur (1970a)=Y; Godfrey (1988)=X; Kral in FNA (1997); Ward (2001); Kessler in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ANNONA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Annonaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Custard-apple Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 128-130 genera and about 2200-2300 species, trees, shrubs, and lianas, mostly tropical. Infrafamilial classification follows Chatrou et al. (2012); Asimina and Annona are in subfamily Annonoideae, tribe Annonineae.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Chatrou et al. (2012); Kessler in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: height and spread 15-30 feet

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub, Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Mar-May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Maroon flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x	x			x				x

FRUITING PERIOD: Aug-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Asimina triloba, a common understory tree in our area, forms large clonal patches in bottomlands, along ponds and creeks, up to drier mid-slopes. Large (up to 1’ long), drooping leaves give pawpaw a unique, tropical feel. To improve pollination and fruit production, plant two pawpaw together, so that their branches cross at maturity. Part of the custard-apple family, its fruit is an odd potato-shape with a mango-banana taste. This is the host plant for the Zebra Swallowtail; supports up to 12 species of lepidoptera. 1987 N.C. Wildflower of the Year.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 3
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
216	HORT	2009-09-21	Poythress	View
1286	HORT	2005-08-01	Bryan	View
1387	HORT	2006-08-01	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
217	2011-0043	2011-01-31	216	View
775	1985-0429			View
3691	1991-0386			View
4500	1992-0656			View
5894	1995-1022			View
6529	1996-0159			View
6630	1996-0268			View
9465	2022-0002			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
441	217	17	NCBG staff	2011-10-25	View
442	217	14	Liloia	2013-04-25	View
1491	775	160	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5994	3691	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6828	4500	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
8419	5894	2	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8420	5894	2	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8421	5894	2	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
9232	6529	146	NCBG staff	1967-01-01	View
9383	6630	119	NCBG staff	1967-12-01	View
12911	775	153	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12912	9465	166	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
13340	0	65	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13765	0	71	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13889	0	73	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: ASTR
USDA Common Name: Pawpaw
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC				FAC	FACU		FAC	FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Asimina triloba
COMMON NAME: Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, Il, K, Pa, RAB, S, V, Va, W, WH3, X, Y, Z]
PHENOLOGY: Mar-May; Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Alluvial forests, other moist, nutrient-rich forests.
COMMENTS: NJ, w. NY, and s. ON west to s. MI and e. NE, south to Panhandle FL, s. LA, and ne. TX.
RANGE MAP: Asimina triloba.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Annonaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Custard-apple Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 128-130 genera and about 2200-2300 species, trees, shrubs, and lianas, mostly tropical. Infrafamilial classification follows Chatrou et al. (2012); Asimina and Annona are in subfamily Annonoideae, tribe Annonineae.
REFERENCE: Chatrou et al. (2012); Kessler in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Asimina Adans. (Pawpaw)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 12 species of shrubs and small trees, endemic to e. North America. Here circumscribed to include Deeringothamnus of peninsular FL; if the genus is to be split into two, the warranted split would be as done by J.K. Small (1933), with Asimina confined to A. triloba and A. parviflora, and all other species, including Deeringothamnus, placed in a second genus. Four additional species occur south of our area in the FL peninsula: A. manasota DeLaney, A. pulchella (Small) Rehder & Dayton, A. rugelii B.L. Robinson, and A. tetramera Small. It is likely that additional taxa will be named.
REFERENCE: DeLaney (2010)=V; Kral (1960)=Z; Wilbur (1970a)=Y; Godfrey (1988)=X; Kral in FNA (1997); Ward (2001); Kessler in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Asimina triloba in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Asimina triloba in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Asimina triloba in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Asimina triloba in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Asimina triloba in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Asimina triloba

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 12328 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 12328 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 2491 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 12329 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)