A keystone of the ancient North American ecosystem…

A nearly forgotten tropical fruit…

This is the story of the dedicated farmers, hippies, and scientists keeping the pawpaw alive.

Pawpaws so far:

36+ hours of footage
20 interviews

We brewed unique beer.

Brewer Brian Mandeville takes a sample of pawpaw beer.
Processing pawpaws for beer.

We pollinated for a new cultivar.

Neal Peterson points out the pawpaw flower with his pollination paint brush.
Rodney Dever labels a pollinated flower.
Neal Peterson next to an experimental line of pawpaws.

We kayaked in search of an elusive butterfly.

Gabrielle Marsden kayaking on the Monongahela River in Pennsylvania.
Gabrielle prepares to sing her pawpaw song.
The pawpaw is the host plant for the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly.

We foraged and explored.

All for a fruit known as

The Pawpaw

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The pawpaw is the largest native fruit that grows across 26 states (and a little bit of Canada). It’s the only tropical fruit native to North America. It’s also the largest edible fruit in North America, yet few people have heard of it, much less tasted it.

Over the past year, we’ve been filming across its native range.

The pawpaw has many unique characteristics… but the people who love this fruit have captivated me the most.

Filming in Progress:

Adam D’Angelo next to a young pawpaw in his research orchard for Project Pawpaw
Chris Chmiel chats about the Ohio Pawpaw Festival.
JP Goguen admires an original Audubon featuring the pawpaw tree at the University of Illinois rare book collection.
Audubon’s pawpaws
Dr. Rob Brannan shares the new food science behind the pawpaw.

The Impact

This isn’t just the story of an amazing tree. This story stands at the intersection of human interest and environmental stewardship. This story is about the forgotten roots of America in our most critical natural spaces.

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