Charlie Paparella Walks Among the Paw Paw Trees

BRIDGEVILLE, Del. – In this week’s edition of Back on the Road with Charlie Paparella, brought to you by Furniture & More Gone Coastal, Charlie walks among a paw paw tree patch and shares his knowledge about the species.

Along the countless creeks and streams that fill Delmarva, you can find the beautiful and generous paw paw tree. The trees contain wide, dark leaves, and begin sprouting fruit at this time of year, which look like small pods — similar to a fig tree. Charlie remarks that Kentucky State University has a good selection of recipes on how to prepare these fruits to eat.

“Some folks mark the trees for the most fruit, but it also alerts other paw paw hunters, and I guess that isn’t such a bad thing,” Charlie observes, viewing a tree with a pink streamer attached to it.

Paw paw trees are found along streams all over the northeastern United States. In late August and September, the paw paw fruit will turn from green to yellow, and begin to loosen its grip on the tree branches. When ripe, the paw paw fruit will fall with just the shake of a tree branch, making it a treat for all humans who have inhabited the eastern U.S. since the beginning of time. Charlie says the trees count on hunting gathering animals to spread their seeds and ultimately their woodsy territory.

“If you’re not up to wandering around the swamp, you can visit the T. S. Smith Orchard Point Market on Route 13 in Bridgeville, Delaware, where my old friend Charlie Smith has been testing varieties of paw paw for a state research project,” Charlie suggests. “Tell him I said ‘Hello!’ if you do.”

If you have a story idea that you’d like to see Charlie tackle, email them to papa@wmdt.com.