Bedrock Gardens
    • Home
    • Visiting
      • Visiting
      • Schedule
      • Programs2023
      • Review of Past Years
      • Directions
      • Tours
      • Talks
      • Off the Beaten Path
      • Eateries
      • Fairy House Festivals
      • Policies >
        • PhotographyPolicy
    • Gardens
      • Gardens
      • Slideshow
      • VideoTour
    • The Nonprofit
      • The Nonprofit
      • Friends of Bedrock Gardens
      • Volunteer
      • Donate
      • Other Ways to Help
      • Memberships >
        • Gift Memberships
      • Business Partnerships
    • About
      • About Bedrock Gardens
      • History
      • Meet The Founders
      • FAQs
      • In the News
      • Blog >
        • Blog
      • Contact Us

    Putrid Pollination

    5/9/2016

    1 Comment

     
    Picture
    Okay, native plant aficionados: What member of the large Annonaceae family of tropical trees is a temperate native of the eastern United States? Hint: It produces a delicate, custard-like, banana-apple-ish fruit that’s almost guaranteed not to be found in commercial markets.  

    ​Answer: the indigenous American pawpaw, Asimina triloba, and it is in residence at Bedrock Gardens. The pawpaw is native to the eastern U.S., from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. It's a favorite of kayakers, who pluck its fruit from riverbanks, and rural folk who know where to find its stands. But although it’s been snacked on by mankind for centuries (it was a favorite of both Thomas Jefferson and Lewis and Clark), it’s rarely cultivated.

    One reason for this may be that its fruits fall to the ground when ripe, bruise easily, and are highly perishable. (Pick them too early though, and they’ll refuse to ripen.)  Another, as discovered by Bedrock’s Jill Nooney,  is that pollination is tricky, so yearly fruit set is not guaranteed:  “Two years ago I had so much fruit I was giving it away at the fall Open House,”  she says. “Last year there were a couple flowers but no fruit.” ​
    PicturePortent of good things to come?
    Along with the tricky fruit set comes the disagreeably fetid smell of the pawpaw’s blooms. It’s so  reminiscent of rotting flesh that the only pollinators it attracts are carnivorous flies and beetles. To increase pollination and ensure fruit production, Jill has decided to employ the old-time, hard-boiled method: that of hanging a decomposing animal carcass in the tree to attract the bluebottle carrion fly. The unwitting subject hanging in Bedrock’s pawpaw is a rather gnarly, road-killed squirrel. 

    ​You can find the pawpaw by the Baxis at Bedrock. Its fruits ripen in September. If it proves successful, squirrel’s death will cede exotic (and magically delicious) new life.


    ​Oh, and no worries: We promise to take the little feller down by May’s Open House! 
    -- Lisa Peters O'Brien



    1 Comment
    Bob
    5/10/2016 07:04:26 am

    Isn't there a song "Dead Squirrel in the middle of the Pawpaw"?

    Reply

    Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


    Leave a Reply.

      Bedrock Gardens

      Follow our blog , Digging Deeper, for horticultural tips, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the garden, and random contributions. Either fill out the form below, or learn more here!

      Subscribe to our blog

      * indicates required

      Archives

      January 2021
      August 2020
      March 2020
      May 2019
      February 2019
      January 2019
      August 2017
      July 2017
      June 2017
      April 2017
      March 2017
      October 2016
      September 2016
      August 2016
      July 2016
      June 2016
      May 2016
      April 2016
      December 2015
      November 2015
      October 2015
      August 2015
      July 2015
      June 2015

      Categories

      All


      RSS Feed

      Picture
      Newsletter
      In the News
      Contact Us
    HOME
    VISITING
    GARDENS
    NONPROFIT
    ABOUT
    Bedrock Gardens  • 19 High Road (physical address),   45 High Road (mailing address)  •  Lee, NH 03861-6202  •  
    603-659-2993 • hello@bedrockgardens.org
    CREDITS AND LINKS 
    Website by
    Harbour Light
    Picture
    Picture
    Back to top