In the pawpaw patch

By Aaron Horrell

The song lyrics are "Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch," but I found these pawpaw fruits in the woods on a hill. The three fruits shown here were hanging low enough that I could pick them. I cut one open so you could see the dark brown seeds and the yellow-white flesh inside. A walnut tree nearby provided me a nut to show size comparison.

Ripe pawpaw fruit is similar in taste to a banana. Raccoons and possums eat them, seeds and all.

Pawpaw trees are native to eastern United States. They are slender under-story trees that grow in the shaded woods. They have smooth bark and rather large, smooth leaves. The brown leaf in the photo is a dead fallen pawpaw leaf.

Pawpaws spread more by propagation from their roots than their seeds. In this way they create small colonies in the woods.