Growing PawPaw Trees The pawpaw (Asimina triloba), also known as the Indiana banana or banango, is the largest fruit native to North America. A relic of a time when giant sloths roamed the pleistocene landscape, these trees have no remaining natural seed vectors, so their range has diminished to the Northeastern temperate forests of the continent. The fruits have never caught on commercially, as they are easily-bruised and highly perishable (with a shelf life of roughly three days). Thus, they are only really preserved in woodlands, private gardens, and in the USDA clonal germplasm repository at Kentucky State University.
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