Asimina triloba 'Sunflower'
- Common Name(s):
- Sunflower pawpaw
- Cultivar(s):
- 'Sunflower'
- Categories:
- Edible Plants, Native Plants, Trees
- Comment:
Pawpaw is a small native deciduous tree. It will appear in clusters in understory canopy of forests, but it needs full sun to ensure fruiting. It is a slow growing tree which needs several years to bear fruit. It is self-fertile so it does not need another tree to produce its large, edible fruits. Early Americans made a yellow dye from the pulp of the ripened fruit.
It works well to naturalize in a native plant or wild garden, a shrub border, woodland margin or in damp areas along ponds or streams.
Wildlife Value: Raccooons, squirrels, and opposums actively seek out fruits and often beat humans to the harvest.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: The pawpaw tree produces self-defensive compounds so pests are not usually a problem.
- Height:
- 15-20 ft.
- Flower:
- Cup-shaped purple flower (3 green sepals and 6 purple petals in two tiers) appear in spring, and give way to edible, oblong, yellowish green fruits which mature in early autumn to a dark brown.
- Zones:
- 5-9
- Habit:
- Deciduous
- Site:
- Full sun, partial shade, shade tolerant but will become leggy. Full-sun to ensure fruiting. Well-drained, deep, slightly acid fertile soil.
- Texture:
- Coarse
- Form:
- Upright, pyramidal crown in full sun
- Exposure:
- Full sun to partial shade
- Fruit:
- Large, yellow, edible
- Edibility:
- Sunflower pawpaw produces large yellow fruit. The yellow flesh has few seeds and ripens in mid to late September. It has a tastes reminiscent of bananas. The fruits are frequently eaten raw or used in ice creams or pies, although they can produce nausea in some people.
- Width:
- 15-20 ft.
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Leaf:
- It features alternate, simple, oblong green leaves. Showy yellow fall color.
NCCES plant id: 3028
