VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Asimina triloba | Pawpaw 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Pawpaw wood is light, soft, coarse-grained, and weak [28,31].  It is not
of economic importance.


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Pawpaw fruits are consumed by many birds and mammals, including
raccoons, gray foxes, opossums, squirrels, and black bears [6,8,16,31].
White-tailed deer browse pawpaw; beavers consume the bark [17].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Pawpaw fruit can be consumed by humans, although handling the fruit may
cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals [28].  The fruits can
be eaten raw, cooked in puddings or breads, or used to make ice cream
[9].  It is planted for fruit production and as an ornamental [2].

An anticancer drug has been purified from pawpaw, and is being tested [34].

The seeds contain an alkaloid, asiminine, which is reported to have
emetic properties.  The bark also contains an alkaloid, analobine, and
was once used as a medicine [31].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Pawpaw is not valued for silvicuture.  Sites that have been clearcut may
need to be treated to suppress pawpaw, since it may outcompete valued
timber species [13].  Pawpaw creates heavy shade that reduces seedling
recruitment of white oak (Quercus alba) and shagbark hickory (Carya
ovata) [24,26].  In southwestern Illinois, an increase in pawpaw cover
was attributed to defoliation of overstory trees by the linden looper.
The pawpaw canopy suppressed seedling establishment of less tolerant
species.  An increase in shade-tolerant species such as sugar maple
(Acer saccharum) is now occurring [24,26].

In Ohio, pawpaw did not occur on study plots until the fourth growing
season following clearcutting [35].

Pawpaw leaves are not preferred by the gypsy moth [14].

Related categories for Species: Asimina triloba | Pawpaw