pawpaw patches (3.4%) and noted that pollinators were rarely observed visiting flowers; therefore, limited availability of pollinators may also contribute to low fruit set. The same study also found that trunk diameter and tree height were not correlated with flower or fruit production.

The pawpaw fruit itself can range from round to oval to kidney-shaped. It is classified botanically as a berry (Dirr, 1990). The fruit can weigh up to 500 grams, with the average pawpaw weighing around 150-200 g, although weight varies greatly by variety (Pomper et al., 1999). Seed size and shape vary from flat to rounded, approximately 2 cm long on average. The fruit is very sweet, with a strong aroma when ripe and soft custard-like flesh. The flavor of the pawpaw fruit is unique, having been described as resembling banana, mango, pineapple, or melon. The fruit are also highly nutritious, containing double the vitamin C of apples, peaches, or grapes, amounts of vitamin A similar to apples and grapes, higher levels of many minerals, including potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron, than apples, peaches, or grapes; and high levels of several essential amino acids (Peterson et al., 1982).

New pawpaw varieties have been selected from the Midwest, as well as the southern regions of the native range of pawpaw (Jones et al., 1998). Neither the number of chilling units required for pawpaw bud emergence nor the number of growing degree days required for fruit ripening have been reported in the literature. The fruit on a single tree or even within a single cluster may ripen many days apart. Fruit may be harvested from a single tree over a period of 3-4 weeks (Archbold and Pomper, 2003).

The pawpaw has a rich history as an important food source to Native Americans, early European explorers, and early settlers of North America (Pickering, 1879). Native Americans likely aided in the distribution of pawpaw across North America, with evidence of the Iroquois tribe bringing pawpaws into central New York, where they were not found previously (Keener and Kuhns, 1997). The pawpaw was first formally noted in 1541, by the De Soto exploration group in the Mississippi River valley (Sargent, 1890). Lewis and Clark wrote in their journal that when rations were low, their exploring party subsisted mostly on pawpaws, and enjoyed the taste (Pomper and Layne, 2004). Early settlers depended partially on pawpaw to sustain them in times of crop failure (Peterson,