Pawpaw

Pawpaw are the largest native American fruit but they sure don't look like much. Kidney shaped and sized, their green skin hides the toothsome truth; a sweet creamy flesh that tastes like . . . Well, banana mixed with mango maybe? They are a member of the custard apple family and the only member to have strayed so far north.

A natural understory tree, pawpaws grow twenty feet tall but can be trimmed smaller. They have large tropical looking leaves and a smooth gray elephant skin bark. When grown in full sun they are pyramid shaped and their leaves turn a lovely yellow in the fall. They are a good choice for a lawn tree provided they are not near hardscapes which would bruise the very perishable fruit when it falls.