Exploring a small creek near home.

[dan hufferd]

This is two trip on a creek near home. I found two large pawpaw groves and managed a few late season pawpaws. My wife made her first pawpaw bread. It is wonderful !

[jdmidwest]

That is a rare one.

We have jetted by many paw paw patches this summer and none have any fruit on them in the 11pt River.  Several grow in the fence rows along the lanes at the farm, but they never bear fruit.

Not sure if it gets eaten early by critters or they are just barren.

[dan hufferd]

16 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

That is a rare one.

We have jetted by many paw paw patches this summer and none have any fruit on them in the 11pt River.  Several grow in the fence rows along the lanes at the farm, but they never bear fruit.

Not sure if it gets eaten early by critters or they are just barren.

From what I understand, flys pollinate the flower. 

I have read that growers hang old meat in the branches to attract flys.

Kinda gross !

[Johnsfolly]

Looks like a great couple of days on the creek Dan! I have only been fortunate to have found ripe paw paws while out fishing just a couple of times.. I like them my wife does too but Livie is not a fan.. I bet she would like your wife's  bread. That looks great.

[dan hufferd]

9 hours ago, jdmidwest said:

That is a rare one.

We have jetted by many paw paw patches this summer and none have any fruit on them in the 11pt River.  Several grow in the fence rows along the lanes at the farm, but they never bear fruit.

Not sure if it gets eaten early by critters or they are just barren.

They won't have fruit until fall, I think they start dropping fruit in September.

[jdmidwest]

It was early Sept after Labor Day.  Lots of bushes, no fruit.  We have been watching for several years now since my buddies Uncle started raising them in an orchard near Joplin.  He brings some along on each trip.  Not something my radiated taste buds like.

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, jdmidwest said:

It was early Sept after Labor Day.  Lots of bushes, no fruit.  We have been watching for several years now since my buddies Uncle started raising them in an orchard near Joplin.  He brings some along on each trip.  Not something my radiated taste buds like.

Thought that there were both male and female pawpaw plants. What I found online:

"Well, they are definitely not entirely dioecious or monoecious for that matter. Pawpaw are termed trioecious (subdioecious), which means they have separate male, female as well as hermaphroditic plants. Although they have both male and female reproduction parts, they are not self-pollinating. The pawpaw’s blossoms are protogynaus, which means that the female stigma matures but is not receptive at time that the pollen is ready for fertilization. Pawpaws are most often propagated via seed, and their sex cannot be determined until they flower."

If really interested check in the spring when they are flowering. Could be that most of the plants that you are seeing are males.
 

[Johnsfolly]

I really don't like the smell they make when you brush up against them 🤢

[dan hufferd]

3 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

I really don't like the smell they make when you brush up against them 🤢

They are supposed to smell like rotten meat. I don't know, I've never been around the flower.

[jdmidwest]

Ran thru a crop of them today on the job.  Not a sign of fruit.  Most were little bushes along a branch that were less than 10-12' tall.