The Maryland Native Plant Society

The Maryland Native Plant Society
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  • MNPS Western Mts Chapter Meeting: "A Native American Species Becomes a New Fruit Crop"

MNPS Western Mts Chapter Meeting: "A Native American Species Becomes a New Fruit Crop"

  • 04/17/2012
  • 7:00 PM
  • Appalachian Laboratory, Frostburg, MD

Speaker: R. Neal Peterson, Plant Breeder

The pawpaw, Asimina triloba, is North America’s largest edible native fruit – not to be confused with the papaya, also known as pawpaw in the tropics. Native in 26 States across most of Eastern North America, the pawpaw is largely forgotten today, but in centuries past it was a common part of the seasonal diet for white settlers and for the native peoples. This talk recounts the pawpaw’s history, biology, early efforts at domestication, and the recent domestication conducted by the speaker that is bringing a distinctively American fruit into the arena of horticulture, not only in America but also in other humid temperate regions of the world.

His program will begin immediately following a brief MNPS chapter business meeting.

Directions: From I-68 take exit 33 (Braddock Rd & Midlothian Rd exit). Follow Braddock Road approximately .2 miles to the entrance to the Appalachian Lab on the left side of the road (301 Braddock Road). There is plenty of parking in front of the building.

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