Hidden Gem of The Forest: Why Pawpaw Trees Matter More Than You Think
Most people can identify a maple or an oak tree without blinking. But tucked into shaded ravines and along quiet creek beds across Indiana is a native tree that’s still flying under the radar: the pawpaw. With its broad, tropical-looking leaves, funky fruit, and surprising ecological significance, the pawpaw might be one of Indiana’s most fascinating trees, as well as one of the most misunderstood.
Though it looks like it belongs in a rainforest, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is actually the largest edible fruit native to North America. Sometimes called the “Indiana/Hoosier banana” or “poor man’s banana,” its custard-like fruit has been of interest from early Indigenous communities to 18th-century settlers to today’s foragers and native plant enthusiasts. Lewis and Clark even documented eating pawpaws on their expedition! But while the fruit gets most of the spotlight, the tree itself has a story worth telling.
Where Pawpaws Grow—and Why You May Not Have Noticed
In Indiana, pawpaws thrive in the understory of hardwood forests, especially near water sources. They're more common than many people realize, but their preference for partial shade and moisture-rich soils keeps them hidden in the background of woodlands. Unlike towering hickories or flowering dogwoods, pawpaws often form dense thickets, growing 15 to 25 feet tall with slender trunks and drooping, oblong leaves that can stretch over a foot long.
Despite their local abundance, pawpaws are surprisingly scarce in large-scale landscaping or suburban yards. This may be due to their unusual fruiting habits, or the fact that most people don’t recognize them. Once you’ve seen a pawpaw patch, however, it’s hard to unsee. By early fall, the trees offer their creamy green fruits in small clusters, often too high to spot unless you’re looking closely or walking through the woods with the intent to spot them!
Pawpaw’s Peculiarities
1. Deer-Resistant by Nature
One of the pawpaw’s lesser-known perks? Deer don’t like them. The leaves, twigs, and bark of the pawpaw contain natural chemical compounds (called acetogenins) that make them unpalatable to browsing deer. For landowners and native gardeners in Indiana battling deer damage every season, this makes the pawpaw a particularly attractive choice for naturalized plantings or reforestation efforts. While young oaks and maples may be chewed to stubs, pawpaws stand untouched!
2. Picky Pollinators
Though pawpaws are resilient in many ways, they have one major challenge: pollination. A pawpaw tree cannot pollinate itself; more specifically, they require pollen from a genetically different pawpaw tree to produce fruit. Even trees grown from seeds of the same parent plant often aren’t enough to pollinate properly.
Pawpaws’ maroon, six-petaled flowers bloom in spring, but instead of attracting bees, pawpaws rely mostly on flies and beetles, pollinators which are drawn to the flower’s faint odor, often compared to fermenting fruit or yeast. This unusual circumstance means successful pollination can be hit or miss, especially when genetically diverse trees are far apart. However, when conditions are right, the reward is rich: ripe pawpaw fruit is soft, sweet, and flavored like a mix of banana, vanilla, mango, and melon!
3. A Butterfly’s Lifeline: Hosting the Zebra Swallowtail
Beyond their fruit, pawpaws play a vital ecological role. They are the exclusive host plant for the zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus), whose black-and- white striped wings and elongated tails make it a standout among Indiana’s pollinators. Female zebra swallowtails lay their eggs on pawpaw leaves, and once hatched, the caterpillars feed exclusively on the foliage.
This relationship is more than aesthetic. Without access to pawpaw trees, zebra swallowtails can’t complete their life cycle. So, every patch of pawpaws in Indiana not only supports a unique native tree; it also sustains one of our most visually striking and specialized butterflies.
A Tree Worth Knowing (and Growing)
The pawpaw is a native species with deep ecological value, uniquely adapted to the forests across the eastern United States. Its ability to deter deer browsing, its unique pollination needs, and its role as the host plant for the zebra swallowtail butterfly all point to a tree that plays a specific, irreplaceable part in the natural landscape. Though it often goes unnoticed, the pawpaw contributes to forest diversity and supports native wildlife in ways that many more recognizable species do not.
For those interested in restoring native habitats, supporting pollinators, or simply learning more about Indiana’s natural heritage, the pawpaw is well worth paying attention to. Its lowkey presence in our forests is a reminder of the complexity and interdependence of native ecosystems, and of the value in protecting even the lesser-known players within them.
You can shop for pawpaws online or in Wasson Garden Centers––American PawPaw