OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Magnoliales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asimina triloba   FAMILY Annonaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asimina triloba   FAMILY Annonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Asimina triloba

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 081-01-002:

Asimina triloba   FAMILY Annonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Asimina triloba

 

COMMON NAME:
Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p37

        

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_386

        

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_astr_001_lvd

        

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_astr_010_lvd

        

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm090221_066

February    Richland County    SC

Congaree National Park

Terminal bud naked, flattened, and covered with rusty red hairs, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Ben Geer Keys    bgk142_a

April        

Outer 3 petals twice the length of the inner 3; stamens in a compact spiral, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm090412_026

April    Greenville County    SC

Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm170408__489

April    Laurens County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District

After open awhile, anthers release pollen & flowers become functionally male, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm170408_488

April    Laurens County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District

Usually with a single, straight trunk, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm190423_7630

April    Pickens County    SC

Jocassee Gorges

Newly opened flowers have shiny stigmas receptive to pollen, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm200411_3735

April    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

Flowering peduncles (10)15-20(25)mm long, the hairs dark reddish-brown, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Keith Bradley    kab_asimina_triloba_4800

April    Richland County    SC

Congaree National Park

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Keith Bradley    kab_asimina_triloba_4819

April    Richland County    SC

Congaree National Park

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Keith Bradley    kab_asimina_triloba_4843

April    Richland County    SC

Congaree National Park

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_a_triloba_pawpaw_2

April        

Leaves glabrous or glabrate above at maturity, usually rusty pubescent beneath, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Ron Lance    rwl142_a

April        

Flowers 3/4-2" across with pedicels more than 1/2" long, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    s050710_g

July    Fayette County    WV

Canyon Rim Visitors Center

Leaf blades obovate, 6-12" long (generally larger than A. parviflora), per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm0308t_35

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_081821blairsville25

August    Union County    GA

Georgia Mountain Research & Education Center, University of Georgia

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_081821blairsville26

August    Union County    GA

Georgia Mountain Research & Education Center, University of Georgia

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Will Stuart    wil_9600460784_4852e1ff21

August    Mecklenburg County    NC

West Branch Greenway

Fruit a large berry, oblong to cylindrical, fleshy, edible, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_a_triloba_9305_4

September        

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Sam Pratt    sbp_2772

September    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

Large (2-5" long) fleshy fruits with yellowish-green to brown skin, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

Sam Pratt    sbp_2821

September    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

Fruits enclose a custard-like pulp with several large flat seeds, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm151113_724

November    Edgefield County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Edgefield Ranger District

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm201107_8120

November    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm201107_8126

November    Greenville County    SC

Ashmore Heritage Preserve

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm221103_0560

November    Pickens County    SC

Nine Times Preserve

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm221103_0561

November    Pickens County    SC

Nine Times Preserve

image of Asimina triloba, Common Pawpaw, Indian-banana

JK Marlow    jkm221103_0563

November    Pickens County    SC

Nine Times Preserve

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Asimina triloba   FAMILY Annonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Asimina triloba   FAMILY Annonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Asimina triloba

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 081-01-002:
Asimina triloba   FAMILY Annonaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Asimina triloba

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

142

Tree
Perennial

Habitat: alluvial forests, other moist, nutrient-rich forests, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (rare in GA Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
Petioles 5-10mm long

FLOWER:
Spring
Purplish-brown, burgundy
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
6 petals (usually)
Many stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Yellowish-green/ Brownish
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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