Asimina

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Asimina
Asimina triloba3.jpg
Asimina triloba
(common pawpaw) in fruit
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Annonaceae
Subfamily: Annonoideae
Genus: Asimina
Adans. (1763)
Type species
Asimina triloba
(L.) Dunal
Synonyms [1]
  • DeeringothamnusSmall (1924)
  • OrchidocarpumMichx. (1803)
  • PityothamnusSmall (1933)

Asimina is a genus of small trees or shrubs described as a genus in 1763. [2] [3] Asimina is the only temperate genus in the tropical and subtropical flowering plant family Annonaceae. [4] Asimina have large, simple leaves and large fruit. It is native to eastern North America and collectively referred to as pawpaw. The genus includes the widespread common pawpaw Asimina triloba, which bears the largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States. [5] Pawpaws are native to 26 states of the U.S. and to Ontario in Canada. [5] [6] The common pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat. Pawpaws are in the same plant family (Annonaceae) as the custard apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, soursop, and ylang-ylang; [7] the genus is the only member of that family not confined to the tropics. Fossils date to the Cretaceous. [8]

Contents

Names

Michel Adanson (1727-1806), who named the genus Asimina Michel Adanson (1727-1806) crop.png
Michel Adanson (1727–1806), who named the genus Asimina

The genus name Asimina was first described and named by Michel Adanson, a French naturalist of Scottish descent. The name is adapted from a Native American term of unknown origin, assimin, [9] through the French colonial asiminier. [10]

The common name (American) pawpaw, also spelled paw paw, paw-paw, and papaw, probably derives from the Spanish papaya , perhaps because of the superficial similarity of their fruits. [11]

Description

Flower of Asimina reticulata Asimina reticulata flower.jpg
Flower of Asimina reticulata
Flower of A. triloba Paw Paw blossom.jpg
Flower of A. triloba

Pawpaws are shrubs or small trees to 2–12 m (6.6–39.4 ft) tall. The northern, cold-tolerant common pawpaw (A. triloba) is deciduous, while the southern species are often evergreen.

The leaves are alternate, obovate, entire, 20–35 cm (7.9–13.8 in) long and 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) broad.

The flowers of pawpaws are produced singly or in clusters of up to eight together; they are large, 4–6 cm across, perfect, with three sepals and six petals (three large outer petals, three smaller inner petals). The petal color varies from white to purple or red-brown.

The fruit of the common pawpaw is a large, edible berry, 5–16 cm (2.0–6.3 in) long and 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) broad, weighing from 20–500 g (0.71–17.64 oz), with numerous seeds; it is green when unripe, maturing to yellow or brown. It has a flavor somewhat similar to both banana and mango, varying significantly by cultivar, and has more protein than most fruits. [5]

Species and their distributions

11 species and several natural interspecies hybrids are accepted. [1] [12] [13]

  1. Asimina angustifolia Raf. 1840 not A. Gray 1886 – Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina [14] Regarded as a synonym of A. longifolia by some authorities. [15]
  2. Asimina × bethanyensis DeLaney
  3. Asimina × colorata DeLaney
  4. Asimina incana (W.Bartram) Exell – woolly pawpaw. Florida and Georgia. (Annona incana W. Bartram [16] )
  5. Asimina longifolia Raf. – slimleaf pawpaw. Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
  6. Asimina × kralii DeLaney
  7. Asimina manasota DeLaney – Manasota papaw native to two counties in Florida (Manatee + Sarasota); first described in 2010 [17] Not recognized by some authorities. [18]
  8. Asimina × nashii Kral
  9. Asimina × oboreticulata DeLaney
  10. Asimina obovata (Willd.) Nash) (Annona obovata Willd.) – Flag-pawpaw or Bigflower pawpaw – Florida [19] [20]
  11. Asimina parviflora (Michx.) Dunal – smallflower pawpaw. Southern states from Texas to Virginia.
  12. Asimina × peninsularis DeLaney
  13. Asimina × piedmontana C.N.Horn
  14. Asimina pulchella (Small) Rehder & Dayton – white squirrel banana. Endemic to 3 counties in Florida. (endangered)
  15. Asimina pygmaea (W.Bartram) Dunal – dwarf pawpaw. Florida and Georgia.
  16. Asimina reticulata Shuttlw. ex Chapman – netted pawpaw. Florida and Georgia.
  17. Asimina rugelii B.L.Rob. – yellow squirrel banana. Endemic to Volusia county Florida (endangered)
  18. Asimina spatulata (Kral) D.B.Ward – slimleaf pawpaw. Florida and Alabama [21] Regarded as a synonym by some authorities. [22] [23]
  19. Asimina tetramera Small – fourpetal pawpaw. Florida (endangered)
  20. Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal – common pawpaw. Extreme southern Ontario, Canada, and the eastern United States from New York west to southeast Nebraska, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. (Annona triloba L. [24] )

Ecology

The common pawpaw is native to shady, rich bottom lands, where it often forms a dense undergrowth in the forest, often appearing as a patch or thicket of individual, small, slender trees.

Pawpaw flowers are insect-pollinated, but fruit production is limited since few if any pollinators are attracted to the flower's faint, or sometimes nonexistent scent. The flowers produce an odor similar to that of rotting meat to attract blowflies or carrion beetles for cross pollination. [25] Other insects that are attracted to pawpaw plants include scavenging fruit flies, carrion flies and beetles. Because of difficult pollination, some[ who? ] believe the flowers are self-incompatible.

Pawpaw fruit may be eaten by foxes, opossums, squirrels, and raccoons. Pawpaw leaves and twigs are seldom consumed by rabbits or deer. [26]

The leaves, twigs, and bark of the common pawpaw tree contain natural insecticides known as acetogenins. [27]

Larvae of the zebra swallowtail butterfly feed exclusively on young leaves of the various pawpaw species, but never occur in great numbers on the plants. [28]

The pawpaw is considered an evolutionary anachronism, where a now-extinct evolutionary partner, such as a Pleistocene megafauna species, formerly consumed the fruit and assisted in seed dispersal. [29]

Cultivation and uses

Asimina triloba is often called "prairie banana" because of its banana-like, creamy texture and flavor. Asimina triloba red fern farm.jpg
Asimina triloba is often called "prairie banana" because of its banana-like, creamy texture and flavor.

Wild-collected fruits of the common pawpaw (A. triloba) have long been a favorite treat throughout the tree's extensive native range in eastern North America. [5] Pawpaws have never been widely cultivated for fruit, but interest in pawpaw cultivation has increased in recent decades. [5] Fresh pawpaw fruits are commonly eaten raw; however, once ripe they store only a few days at room temperature and do not ship well unless frozen. [5] [30] Other methods of preservation include dehydration, production of jams or jellies, and pressure canning. The fruit pulp is also often used locally in baked dessert recipes, [31] with pawpaw often substituted in many banana-based recipes.

The common pawpaw is of interest in ecological restoration plantings, since this tree grows well in wet soil and has a strong tendency to form well-rooted clonal thickets.[ citation needed ]

History

The earliest documentation of pawpaws is in the 1541 report of the Spanish de Soto expedition, who found Native Americans cultivating it east of the Mississippi River. Chilled pawpaw fruit was a favorite dessert of George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson planted it at his home in Virginia, Monticello. The Lewis and Clark Expedition sometimes subsisted on pawpaws during their travels. Daniel Boone was also a consumer and fan of the pawpaw. The common pawpaw was designated as the Ohio state native fruit in 2009. [32] [33] Numerous pawpaw festivals have celebrated the plant and its fruit.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soursop</span> Species of plant

Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and the Caribbean and is widely propagated. It is in the same genus, Annona, as cherimoya and is in the Annonaceae family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annonaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Annonaceae are a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest family in the Magnoliales. Several genera produce edible fruit, most notably Annona, Anonidium, Asimina, Rollinia, and Uvaria. Its type genus is Annona. The family is concentrated in the tropics, with few species found in temperate regions. About 900 species are Neotropical, 450 are Afrotropical, and the remaining are Indomalayan.

Paw Paw, Paw paw, or pawpaw may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherimoya</span> Edible fruit-bearing species of the genus Annona

The cherimoya, also spelled chirimoya and called chirimuya by the Inca people, is a species of edible fruit-bearing plant in the genus Annona, from the family Annonaceae, which includes the closely related sweetsop and soursop. The plant has long been believed to be native to Ecuador and Peru, with cultivation practised in the Andes and Central America, although a recent hypothesis postulates Central America as the origin instead, because many of the plant's wild relatives occur in this area.

<i>Annona</i> Genus of fruits and plants

Annona or Anona is a genus of flowering plants in the pawpaw/sugar apple family, Annonaceae. It is the second largest genus in the family after Guatteria, containing approximately 166 species of mostly Neotropical and Afrotropical trees and shrubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Custard apple</span> Index of plants with the same common name

Custard apple is a common name for several fruits and may refer to Annonaceae, the custard apple family, which includes the following species referred to as custard apples:

<i>Annona squamosa</i> Species of tree

Annona squamosa is a small, well-branched tree or shrub from the family Annonaceae that bears edible fruits called sugar apples or sweetsops. It tolerates a tropical lowland climate better than its relatives Annona reticulata and Annona cherimola helping make it the most widely cultivated of these species. Annona squamosa is a small, semi-(or late) deciduous, much-branched shrub or small tree 3 to 8 metres tall similar to soursop. It is a native of tropical climate in the Americas and West Indies, and Spanish traders aboard the Manila galleons docking in the Philippines brought it to Asia.

<i>Eurytides marcellus</i> Species of butterfly

Eurytides marcellus, the zebra swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly native to the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. It is the state butterfly of Tennessee. Its distinctive wing shape and long tails make it easy to identify, and its black-and-white-striped pattern is reminiscent of a zebra. The butterflies are closely associated with pawpaws, and are rarely found far from these trees. The green or black caterpillars feed on the leaves of various pawpaw species, while the adults feed on flower nectar and minerals from damp soil.

<i>Asimina triloba</i> Species of tree

Asimina triloba, the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit. Asimina is the only temperate genus in the tropical and subtropical flowering plant family Annonaceae, and Asimina triloba has the most northern range of all. Well-known tropical fruits of different genera in family Annonaceae include the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang, and soursop.

<i>Asimina tetramera</i> Species of tree

Asimina tetramera, commonly known as the four-petal pawpaw, is a rare species of small tree or perennial shrub endemic to Martin and Palm Beach Counties in the state of Florida. The species is currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and as endangered by the International Union for Conservation. The four-petal pawpaw is part of the family Annonaceae alongside other Asimina species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annonacin</span> Chemical compound

Annonacin is a chemical compound with toxic effects, especially in the nervous system, found in some fruits such as the paw paw, custard apples, soursop, and others from the family Annonaceae. It is a member of the class of compounds known as acetogenins. Annonacin-containing fruit products are regularly consumed throughout the West Indies for their traditional medicine uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acetogenin</span> Group of chemical compounds

Acetogenins are a class of polyketide natural products found in plants of the family Annonaceae. They are characterized by linear 32- or 34-carbon chains containing oxygenated functional groups including hydroxyls, ketones, epoxides, tetrahydrofurans and tetrahydropyrans. They are often terminated with a lactone or butenolide. Over 400 members of this family of compounds have been isolated from 51 different species of plants. Many acetogenins are characterized by neurotoxicity.

<i>Asimina pulchella</i> Species of flowering plant

Asimina pulchella is a rare species of flowering plant in the custard apple family known by the common names beautiful pawpaw, royal false pawpaw, and white squirrel banana. It is a federally listed endangered species.

<i>Asimina rugelii</i> Species of plant

Asimina rugelii is a rare species of flowering plant in the custard apple family known by the common names Rugel's pawpaw, Rugel's false pawpaw, and yellow squirrel banana. It is endemic to Volusia County, Florida, in the United States, where there are fewer than 5000 plants remaining in severely fragmented habitat. The main threat to this species is habitat destruction and degradation. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 1986.

<i>Asimina incana</i> Species of tree

Asimina incana, the woolly pawpaw, is a species of pawpaw. It is a shrub that grows to a height of 1.5 metres. Its leaves are 3–6 millimetres (0.12–0.24 in) long and leathery. It usually grows 1–4 flowers per node. Its pollen is shed as permanent tetrads.

<i>Asimina parviflora</i> Species of tree

Asimina parviflora, the smallflower pawpaw, is a small to medium shrub in the custard apple family.

<i>Asimina obovata</i> Species of flowering plant

Asimina obovata, the bigflower pawpaw, is a shrub or small tree in the custard apple family. It is an endemic native to Florida, where it is found on open sandy hammocks and in dry woods. Showy white flowers in late winter to early summer are followed by large green edible fruit. Its pollen is shed as permanent tetrads. Along with the other members of the genus, it serves as a host plant for zebra swallowtail butterfly and pawpaw sphinx moth

<i>Asimina pygmaea</i> Species of plant

Asimina pygmaea, the dwarf pawpaw or gopher berry, is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to Florida and Georgia in the United States. William Bartram, the American naturalist who first formally described the species using the basionym Annona pygmaea, named it after its dwarfed stature.

<i>Asimina reticulata</i> Species of plant

Asimina reticulata, the netted pawpaw, is a species of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to Florida in the United States.

<i>Asimina spatulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Asmina spatulata is a flowering plant in the pawpaw (Asimina) genus. It is in the Annonaceae family. It grows in northern Florida southern Alabama, and eastern Georgia. A dicot shrub it has white solitary flowers and alternate leaves.

References

  1. 1 2 Asimina Adans. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ↑ Adanson, Michel. 1763. Familles des Plantes 2: 365 in French
  3. ↑ "Tropicos, Asimina Adans".
  4. ↑ Huang, Hongwen; Layne, Desmond; Kubisiak, Thomas (July 2000). "RAPD Inheritance and Diversity in Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)". Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 125 (4): 454–459. doi: 10.21273/JASHS.125.4.454 .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pawpaw Description and Nutritional Information". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Flora of North America: Asimina triloba. "Asimina triloba". Flora of North America. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Boning, Charles R. (2006). Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs, and Vines. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. pp. 172–173. ISBN   978-1-56164-372-1.
  8. ↑ Peppe, Daniel J.; Erickson, J. Mark; Hickey, Leo J. (May 2007). "Fossil leaf species from the Fox Hills Formation (Upper Cretaceous: North Dakota, USA) and their paleogeographic significance". Journal of Paleontology. 81 (3): 550–567. doi:10.1666/05067.1. ISSN   0022-3360.
  9. ↑ Werthner, William Benjamin; Werthner, Evangeline Hippard; Kienholz, Aaron Raymond (1935). Some American trees an intimate study of native Ohio trees. Macmillan. OCLC   681865854.[ page needed ]
  10. ↑ Sargent, Charles Sprague; Faxon, Charles Edward; Gill, Mary (Wright) (1933). Manual of the trees of North America (exclusive of Mexico). Houghton Mifflin. OCLC   680282467.[ page needed ]
  11. ↑ Hormaza, José I. (July 2014). "The Pawpaw, a Forgotten North American Fruit Tree" (PDF). Arnoldia. 72 (1): 13–23. doi:10.5962/p.253574. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  12. ↑ "Asimina". Flora of North America. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps, Asimina".
  14. ↑ "Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution maps, Asimina angustifolia".
  15. ↑ "Asimina angustifolia Raf". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Annona incana". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  17. ↑ "Asimina manasota - Species Page - ISB: Atlas of Florida Plants".
  18. ↑ "Asimina Adans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "US Department of Agriculture plants profile, Asimina obovata (Willd.) Nash, bigflower pawpaw".
  20. ↑ "Asimina obovata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  21. ↑ "Alabama Plant Atlas, Asimina spatulata".
  22. ↑ "Asimina spatula (Kral) D.B.Ward". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  23. ↑ Asimina spatulata (Kral) D.B.Ward. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  24. ↑ "Asimina triloba". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  25. ↑ Guy Hand (October 12, 2011). "In Awe of the Pawpaw". Boise Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "PAWPAW Fruit Facts". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  27. ↑ Sampson, Blair J.; McLaughlin, Jerry L.; Wedge, David E. (1 January 2003). "Paw paw extract as a botanical insecticide, 2002". Arthropod Management Tests. 28 (1): L5. doi: 10.1093/amt/28.1.L5 .
  28. ↑ "California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. 1996,1999, "Pawpaw: Asimina triloba, Annonaceae"". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  29. ↑ Boone, Madison J.; Davis, Charli N.; Klasek, Laura; del Sol, Jillian F.; Roehm, Katherine; Moran, Matthew D. (January 2015). "A Test of Potential Pleistocene Mammal Seed Dispersal in Anachronistic Fruits using Extant Ecological and Physiological Analogs". Southeastern Naturalist. 14 (1): 22–32. doi:10.1656/058.014.0109. S2CID   86809830.
  30. ↑ "Purdue University FoodLink - Pawpaw". FoodLink - Purdue Extension. 2020.
  31. ↑ Angier, Bradford (1974). Field guide to edible wild plants. Stackpole Books. p. 160. ISBN   978-0-8117-0616-2. OCLC   799792.
  32. ↑ Craig Summers Black (February 4, 2009). "America's forgotten fruit: The native pawpaw tastes like banana and grows close to home". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14.
  33. ↑ Ohio Revised Code "Section 5.082 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws".
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