FNPS Plant Database

Asimina obovata

flag pawpaw, bigflower pawpaw, scrub pawpaw

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

flag pawpaw, bigflower pawpaw, scrub pawpaw

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Asimina obovata

Family:

Annonaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

to 10 ft

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

green

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms late winter-early spring

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Understory shrub.

Considerations:

Difficult to transplant because of long taproot.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

Usually grown from nursery stock. Difficult to transplant, minimize root disturbance and keep moist until established. Can be grown from seed.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for zebra swallowtail ( Eurytides marcellus ) and pawpaw sphinx ( Dolba hyloeus ).





Pollinated by flies and beetles.

Small mammals and birds harvest the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Dry hammocks, dry hardwood forests, sandhill, clayhill, scrub

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Edible fruit.

General Comments:

Citations:

Institute for Regional Conservation.  Accessed 2021.  Natives for Your Neighborhood.  https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Asimobov.



Minno, Marc and Maria Minno.  1999. Florida Butterfly Gardening.  University Press of Florida. 



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Tras, Pamela.  2001.  Gardening for Florida's butterflies.  Great Outdoors Publishing, St. Petersburg, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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