Survival Skills: Forage For Pawpaw
Don’t let the odd name confuse you. While the term “paw paw” is often applied to the tropical papaya fruit in other parts of the world, it’s also the name of an all-American treasure. The native pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba) can be found in the eastern half of North America and it is the northernmost member of a tropical plant family. The pawpaw is an excellent tree for survival enthusiasts to learn, as it produces more than just an enticing fruit. Read along and learn where to find it, how to identify the tree, along with eight different ways it can benefit you.
Pawpaw is widely distributed in the eastern half of North America. The range of this tree reaches from western New York to southern Ontario, across to Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. It’s found in the eastern parts of Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. It can be very common in the Appalachian Mountains and Mid-Atlantic, down to the Florida panhandle. Typically growing in rich damp soil, it’s often found in river valleys and flood plains, though it can grow in many different environments. The tree has large oblong or obovate leaves (like an oval, but pointy on the ends) that grow in an alternate branch pattern. Pawpaw has some of the largest leaves you’ll see in the Eastern Woodlands, which can often hide their unique fruit (easily the most identifiable feature on the tree). Its odd fruits look a lot like a fat green banana, reaching lengths up to 10 inches long and hanging as solitary fruits or in small bunches. These trees start bearing fruit when they reach 10 to 15 feet in height, and the trees typically remain small (though much larger trees are occasionally seen).
This sweet native fruit has probably been enjoyed by people since ancient times, and it has saved many from starvation (even some famous people). Lewis and Clark’s expedition lived on the fruit for two weeks during their epic trek. Clark wrote:
“By September 18 (1806), the party was within 150 miles of the settlements. It had run entirely out of provisions and trade goods… There were plenty of ripe plums, which the men called “pawpaws.’ Gathering a few bushels was the work of a few minutes only. The men told the captains ‘they could live very well on the pawpaws.’ “
What’s so great about them? The soft custard-like yellowish pulp has a sweet flavor, reminding many eaters of a combination of banana and mango. Ripe pawpaw fruits each contain about a dozen large dark seeds. These seeds are not edible, but the pulp is. Simply toss the seeds into a shady area for a chance of growing more pawpaw trees, and enjoy the pulp raw or cooked. More calorie dense than many other wild fruits, pawpaw boasts an impressive 80 calories per 100 grams of flesh. I love to eat them raw, right off the tree. When fully ripe, the low hanging ones seem to “slip” off the tree branch when you cup your hand under them. The ripe ones higher up can drop off when you shake the tree. You’ll know the fruit is ripe when it is very soft, fragrant and sweet tasting.
The size of pawpaw fruits can vary a lot, with tiny ones weighing only a few ounces to whoppers that weigh more than a pound apiece. The average pawpaw fruit, with its large inedible seeds removed, will give you more than a 100-gram serving. This modest amount (3.5 ounces) is anything but modest in its nutritional offerings. While offering small amounts of fiber, protein and fat, this same serving provides more than 30 percent of the daily allowance of vitamin C. It also provides vitamin A and B vitamins like thiamine, niacin and riboflavin. You’ll even get several essential minerals with eat bite. That 100 gram serving provides 10% of your daily potassium, 39% of your iron, 25% copper, 11% percent magnesium, and a very generous 130% of the daily value of manganese.
This is just one of the many wild plants you can eat and just one of the many plants I can show you during our in-person foraging classes. Sign up for the next class today!
Written by Tim MacWelch First draft published on outdoorlife.com