![]() Ive been told that a good place to look in our region is along country roadsides in the Paw Paw, Lawrence and Bangor area. They are often found along creeks and stream banks and floodplains. You can find these trees growing in forests throughout SW Michigan, they prefer partial shade and fertile well drained soil. Too many pawpaws is a good problem to have. ![]() Before I knew it my basked was heavy with the things, eventually I just started eating them and passing them out to others in the group so I didn't have to carry so much around. It was a bazaar experience shaking the tree stalks to see big fruits thump to the ground. It didn't take long on our walk through the woodlot adjacent to the farm before we were in a thick patch of these trees. Leading up to the foraging class with Nabe I had only heard of pawpaw trees in Michigan and to my knowledge I had never come across them on my hikes. I found them to be delicious but they do have relatively large bean shaped seeds to watch out for. This can be undesirable for some, but more often people are very excited when pawpaw season arrives. The flesh is yellow and custard like when ripe and it tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango but sweeter, with a slightly more slimy texture. They have a distinctive tropical appearance and shoppers at the farmer's market are often confused when they ask where pawpaws come from and the reply is, "here". Pawpaw trees are the only species of its family ( Annonaceae) that are endemic to north America, other relatives found closer to the equator bear tropical fruits such as the custard apple and ylang-ylang.ĭevelopment has reduced their numbers significantly over the years but they can still be found throughout SW Michigan from September through early October. The fruits have a yellowish-green outer skin and can get quite large, some weighing in over a pound. Pawpaw trees are patch forming, so if you find one you will likely find many more clones of the same tree in the area. They are an understory tree only growing to around 35 feet tall, but with broad simple leaves that range from 10-12 inches long by 4-6 inches wide. The mostly unheard of, mango like fruit known as the pawpaw belongs to the small deciduous tree Asimina triloba, they were once so abundant in SW Michigan that the town of Paw Paw is named after them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |