Four-petal pawpaw

The branching brown, reddish, or grayish stems reach 1 to 3 meters in height. It is the tallest pawpaw. The leaves are up to 10 centimeters long, green above and gray-green on the undersides, often with rolled edges. The flower is pink to maroon in color, changing color as it ages, and has a fetid scent. It has usually four sepals and six petals. The fruit is a yellow-green, banana-scented aggregate.

to collect seed of Four-petal Pawpaw in July. More

The four-petal pawpaw was listed as a federally endangered species on September 26, 1986. Four-petal pawpaw is known to occur only in Martin and Palm Beach Counties, Florida. The species is found on several tracts of private land as well as in some public preserves. More

The Four-petal pawpaw is found only in southeastern Florida, in Martin and Palm Beach Counties. It is threatened by loss of habitat to the growing population of the region. Its conservation is further complicated by the fact that the seeds cannot be stored using traditional seed banking procedures. CREW researchers in the Plant Research Division have developed methods for propagating this species through tissue culture and for cryopreserving shoot tips from the cultures in liquid nitrogen. More