Pawpaw

Leaves

Form

• Deciduous, alternate, simple
• Thin, pendulous
• Unpleasant odour when bruised
• Principal veins prominent
• Looped together near the margin
• About 15 per side

Length

• 15–30 cm

Width

• Widest above the middle

Colour

• Hairs reddish-brown
• Upper surface green
• Lower surface paler
• Principal veins on lower surface reddish-brown

Petiole

• Short, grooved

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud present, elongated, flattened
• Without scales
• Exposed immature leaves covered with hairs
• Lateral buds smaller than terminal
• Pressed against the twig
• Often 2 buds together, lowermost very small
• Flower buds larger, globular, stalked
• Leaf scars crescent-shaped, almost encircling the bud
• Covered with a membrane for a short time after leaf fall
• 5–7 vein scars

Colour

• Hairs reddish-brown

Twigs

Form

• Slender, zigzag, becoming hairless
• Fine, shallow grooves
• Pith solid, banded

Colour

• Brownish, streaked with whitish grooves
• Pith whitish

Flowers

Form

• Solitary or in small clusters
• Showy with an unpleasant odour
• Insect-pollinated
• Drooping

Width

• 4 cm

Colour

• Reddish-purple

Structure

• Synoecious
• On previous year’s twigs

Floral timing

• When the leaves begin to unfold

Fruits

Form

• Fleshy, with edible pulp
• Irregular cylindrical

Length

• To 12 cm

Colour

• Pale greenish-yellow becoming yellow to brownish when ripe

Structure

• Berry
• Solitary or in clusters

Seeds

Form

• Flattened, several per fruit

Colour

• Dark brown

Bark

Form

• Thin and smooth when young, becoming rough with age

Colour

• Shiny dark brown with greyish blotches when young

Size

Height

• 10 m

Tree form

Forest-grown

Crown

• Broad, with straight, spreading branches

Habitat

Site

• Rich moist soils of floodplains and wet woods
• In colonies as an understory tree

Light tolerance

• Shade-tolerant

Range

Rare in Canada
In Ontario, north of Lake Erie