FNPS Plant Database

Asimina pygmea

dwarf pawpaw, gopherberry

Photographs belong to the photographers who allow use for FNPS purposes only. Please contact the photographer for all other uses.

Nomenclature

Common Name:

dwarf pawpaw, gopherberry

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Asimina pygmea

Family:

Annonaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

1.5-2.0 ft tall by 1-1.5 ft wide

Life Span:

long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white, red, green

Fruit Color:

green

Phenology:

Blooms in late spring

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant

Considerations:

Difficult to establish because of long taproot

Availability:

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

Moisture Tolerance:

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

-|----|----|----|----|--|--- <----------------------> -|---|-

Somewhat moist, no flooding ---to--- Somewhat long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

5.0 to 7.0

Suitable to Grow In:

8B, 9A, 9B

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



Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Ecology

Wildlife:

Birds, Mammals
Birds and small wildlife consume the fruit. The fruit of dwarf pawpaw is sometimes called gopherberry because the fruit is eaten by gopher tortoises.
Moths, Butterflies, Caterpillars, Pollinators

Larval host to the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) and pawpaw sphinx (Dolba hyloeus). Pollinated by flies and beetles.

Native Habitats:

flatwoods, scrub, sandhill

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Edible fruit

General Comments:

Flowers range from maroon to maroon-and-white, to maroon-and-green mixed. One common name is gopherberry, because golpher tortoise eat the fruit.

Citations:

Minno, Marc and Maria Minno. 1999. Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


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/ , accessed 2025. Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Request an update