Worst plant fact sheet ever

[Adam]

Check it out and see if you can try not to laugh. The best part is the ironic line: "Often mistaken for the similar looking Papaya..."

http://www.theediblegarden.com.au/catalogs/pawpaw.pdf

[Pakanohida]

I do not see how it is the worst fact sheet ever, perhaps you are not familiar with a fruit from Eastern North America, and elsewhere in the Americas.

Asimina, the pawpaw genus, various species of trees and shrubs native to eastern North America, including A. triloba
Asimina triloba, a temperate tree with edible fruit, native to eastern North America
Carica papaya, the papaya or papaw (pawpaw), a tropical fruit tree native to the New World
Mountain papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens), the mountain papaya or mountain paw paw, a fruit tree native to South America

Fruit looks superficially similar before being cut.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba for more information.

[Adam]

I am American, so I am indeed familiar with A. triloba, which is why I find the fact sheet laughable. Clearly the person who made it is not familiar with the American tree. If you read the information carefully, you'll realize that half of the information is about A. triloba (red) and half is C. papaya (green), but it's all presented as the fact sheet for A. triloba. Additionally, the picture on the factsheet is a papaya. Also, although bisexaul, A. triloba is a poor self-pollinator and you really do need two varieties to get a crop.

Native to North America, this large edible fruit was first cultivated by Native
Americans.
It once was a a staple fruit for families near main growing areas, but they fell
out of popularity as global trade brought other fruits to the markets.
Often mistaken for the similar looking Papaya, but it is unrelated as the papaya
is only grown in tropical regions where as the pawpaw can tolerate a cooler
climate.
It is a medium sized tree that can grow up to 9m in height that has large, long
droopy leaves that give the plant a tropical feel as it looks somewhat like a
palm tree. The tree bears brownish-red to purple flowers that are about 5cm
wide. Because this species is bisexual (pertaining both male and female
organs of the flower) there is no need to plant multiple trees together to obtain
fruit, as the plant pollinates its own flowers.
The smooth green fruit that grow to be aprox 15 to 20cm in length, turn a
burnt yellow colour harbours hundreds of shiny black seeds in the cavity within
the fruit.
Although the paw paw can tolerate cooler climates, it does require full sun and
protection from the wind. Any exposure to extreme winds, of light frost with
damage trees on all ages.
Soil is best to be well drained as the paw paw does not like wet feet. Keep the
surrounding soil rich in organic matter.
The trees begin to fruit after about 18monhs, and the main harvest time is from
spring all the way through to late autumn. Avoid the saw getting into direct
contact with skin and your eyes as it can be an allergen in rare cases.
Pawpaw is a delicate flavour that can be enhanced by squeezing the juice of a
lemon or lime over the fruit. The flavour is a cross between a banana, pear
and a mango and the texture is like that of a rockmelon. It have a varies
culinary use from fresh flesh used in salads, juices, ice creams, sorbets and
cocktails… through to chutneys and garnishes.

This is what A. triloba really looks like:

pawpaw fruit, Asimina triloba

[eco4560]

But papaya can be red too....

[Pakanohida]

The text is an accurate description of Pawpaw, still not seeing it. Sorry

culinary use from fresh flesh used in salads, juices, ice creams, sorbets and
cocktails… through to chutneys and garnishes.

I would also add that Pawpaw is also good in cakes, jams, wine, fruit drinks, and it can be used with limited success as a substitute for banana.

[Grasshopper]

Is the problem that Australians call Paw Paw the fruit Americans call Papaya???

a bit like
Coriander is a herb ands spice in Australia and only a Spice in the US, Cilantro is the herb.

[Michaelangelica]

I'm confused

[Adam]

Ah, you Aussies really don't know American paw paw (A. triloba) at all! I think that's why you are all so confused. I guess it's no wonder the Aussie who made this fact sheet was so mixed up.

The text is definitely not accurate! As I showed above, only the red text is accurate for A. triloba. The green text is actually mistakenly referring to C. papaya. And the picture is clearly C. papaya, not A. triloba!

For further clarification, here are parts of the description which are factually incorrect:
- light frost will NOT damage A. triloba, it can take severe winter freezing temps even where I am from in the Northeast USA where we get snow regularly every winter
- the fruit does NOT have hundreds of tiny black seeds, it has 4 to a dozen or so large black seeds
- it is not really self-pollinating
- it doesn't resemble a palm even remotely, it has a very pyramidal shape to it
- it does not need full sun (though it enjoys it) and will do quite well in the shade
- the trees will not fruit after 18 months and there is only one harvest time: autumn
- the texture is not like a rockmelon but more like a custard or banana
- when ripe they are usually light green, but some varieties are greenish yellow or brownish yellow when ripe, and more like 10-16 cm in length
- technically the culinary part could be true of either species, except A. triloba would never be found in salads

[Adam]

Eco, most of the red text is not true of papaya, although there is some text of both colors that could really describe both species such as the soil conditions and culinary uses.

Papaya, for example, is not really native to N. America, but Central and South American. Papaya does not have brownish red flowers. I wouldn't describe the papaya's taste as a cross between banana, pear, and mango. Papaya can't really tolerate cooler climates. Bisexual papaya exists, but there are male and female papaya plants, too.

So to sum up, this fact sheet is not true for either species but is really a mash up between both of them!

[mischief]

So the A triloba picture has those big longish seeds and that is the one that can grow in temperate climates, not the one with the small shiny round seeds?

Damn that isnt what I collected and it was labelled in the supermarket as American Pawpaw, no wonder it didnt grow for me.