FNPS Plant Database

Asimina parviflora

smallflower pawpaw
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

smallflower pawpaw

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Asimina parviflora

Family:

Annonaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

to 15 ft tall by to 10 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

red,purple

Fruit Color:

green,brown,NA

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms early spring. Fruits ripen in late spring-summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Small tree appropriate to moist areas.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Seed.

Light:

Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Somewhat moist, no flooding

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, Loam

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

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:

Floodplains.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Edible fruit.

General Comments:

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



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



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 (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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