Pawpaw Tree Varieties

Introducing the Petrichor Pawpaw™ Collection

At Petrichor Pawpaws, our mission is to cultivate, preserve, and share exceptional pawpaw genetics with growers and fruit lovers everywhere. As our breeding program continues to mature, we’re always looking for ways to ensure our varieties are easy to identify, track, and enjoy for generations to come.

During the recent International Pawpaw Conference, one issue stood out: the long-term confusion caused by numbered breeding lines. Over time, numbers are easily lost, mixed up, or recorded incorrectly—a real concern for anyone working to preserve Pawpaw varieties.

To protect the integrity of our work and to make our varieties more memorable and meaningful, we’ve officially transitioned from numbers to names.

Each variety in this series now carries a name that reflects its unique flavor profile and character. 

These are the same genetics you’ve come to trust—now with identities that celebrate what makes each one special.

Petrichor Sorbet™  (formerly Petrichor 1)

A classic, late-ripening variety with a sweet flavor profile. Its elongated, freestone fruit is known for being a heavy producer. Wonderful texture and flavor for making Sorbet! This variety was grown from a seed sourced from a local farmer’s market in Western North Carolina.

Petrichor Pudding™  (formerly Petrichor 2)

"Nature's pudding" is a perfect way to describe this variety. Its medium-sized fruit offers an incredibly sweet, creamy, and buttery experience with complex notes of potpourri, banana, mango, and a delicate floral finish. Petrichor 2 is a very prolific producer, delivering a bountiful harvest of this decadent treat. Its seed was sourced from a Western North Carolina farmer’s market.

Petrichor Passion™  (formerly Petrichor 3)

Our Premier Selection! This is the flagship of our collection. Petrichor 3 produces extra-large, thin-skinned fruit with a fantastically low seed-to-flesh ratio. Each bite is a sublime blend of sweet, fruity cream and custard with hints of vanilla. The fruit is freestone and becomes highly aromatic as it ripens, with the skin turning a slight yellow. A truly superior variety for its great texture and flavor. This variety was grown from seed from a Western North Carolina farmer’s market or co-op. Also one of my earliest ripening trees!

Petricolada™  (formerly Petrichor 4)

Experience the tropics with this Pawpaw’s creamy, coconut, and piña colada flavors. The flesh is sweet and yellow-orange. The seeds are freestone in a single, neat row. Petrichor 4 is a true early bloomer, with its seeds consistently being the first to sprout in our greenhouse each year and being an early-ripening variety. The seed was sourced from a Western North Carolina farmer’s market or co-op.

Pawpaw Varieties from other Breeders

(available for local pickup in the Fall - once the grafts have healed, please message me to reserve yours today!)

Atria: Heavy bearers with low seed percentage and excellent flavor.  Large, elongated fruit, heavy production, mid season. 

Atwood: KSU’s first released variety. Has medium sized fruit with XL seeds but good seed to flesh ratio. White colored flesh is creamy and sweet. Heavy yielding! 

Benson: A newer KSU release. Known for medium-large fruit, rich and delicious flavor, and often a creamy texture with a pleasant aroma. Mid season, very heavy fruit setting (150+ per tree). 

Chappell: A very popular KSU release. Known for exceptionally large, high-quality fruit with excellent flavor (often described as rich, creamy, and sweet) and a good pulp-to-seed ratio. Mid-season ripening. One of the fastest growing varieties.

Free Byrd: Large to jumbo sized fruit, oval shaped. Sweet and smooth rich custard textures with low seed weight. Light yellow flesh, heavy producer, ripens early September. Seedling of Shenendoah selected by Larry Byrd.

Golden Moon: Often described as a productive variety with good-sized, flavorful fruit, sometimes with a golden-yellow flesh. Fruit color changes to yellow when ripe. Reported to be from one of the trees at Berea College.

Green River Belle: A newer selection from Neal Peterson, often described as having good flavor and productivity. Large fruits with exquisite flavor and texture. Low seed weight with a sweet mellow flavor.

Iowa Golden: An older, well-regarded cultivar known for productive trees and good-sized, flavorful fruit, often with a rich, sweet taste. It's considered reliable. Heavy bearing of large fruit with excellent flavor. Strong color break at ripening. Unusually even ripening time–most of the fruit ripens in just a few days.

Jerry's Big Girl: As the name suggests, known for very large fruit and heavy production. Reported to have fruit up to 2 pounds! It has won several awards at the Ohio Pawpaw Festival. Bred by Jerry Lehman in Indiana.

Lehman's Select: Sweet and tasty, small fruit - descendant of well known variety with excellent fruit. 

Mango: An older, well-known cultivar. Named for its somewhat mango-like flavor notes and sometimes shape. Produces good-sized fruit with a pleasant, sweet taste.

NC-1: Early ripening variety from Canada, produces abundant crops of large and flavorful fruit. Valued for its high pulp to seed ratio which means more delicious pawpaw flesh in each fruit. 

Nyomi's Delicious: Large high quality fruit, from Berea, KY, early-ripening. Fruits show a light color break to yellow at ripening, and it tends strongly towards single-fruit bearing and is very productive. Thin skinned with delicious, thick and extra-custardy flesh that is yellow-orange, with a mild and very pleasant, sweet flavor that is just delicious. Very low seed weight and count. The mild flavor would widely appeal to people that are turned off by strong pawpaw flavors. Nurseryman Cliff England, who introduced this pawpaw variety, met an elderly woman in Berea, KY named Nyomi who had this beloved tree growing in her backyard (charmingly claiming to have a “magical cancer-killing fruit tree”), and subsequently introduced it into the nursery trade. This cultivar shows good disease resistance and is a vigorous, strong, fast grower. 

Overleese: An older, very reliable cultivar from Ohio. Known for large, high-quality fruit with excellent, rich, sweet flavor and a good texture. A consistent producer. Selected in the wild by W. B. Ward in Rushville, Indiana, in 1950. Oval to round and few seeds with excellent flavor. It is a parent of many other improved cultivars including Peterson's Shenandoah. Exceptional quality, medium to large fruit and early ripening. Medium productivity and a very good seed to flesh ratio. Fruit keeps well. 

Pennsylvania Golden 3: A popular pawpaw for growing in the pawpaw’s most northern range. Early ripening and very good quality. Fruits can get very large, up to 1 pound. The deep yellow, almost orange flesh is juicy and soft and has a refreshing, very pleasant tangy tropical fruity flavor. Trees are productive and cold-hardy. 

Rappahannock: Neal Peterson cultivar. Known for its very few seeds (often just 2-3 large seeds per fruit) and a rich, sweet, creamy flavor. Ripens mid-season. Rappahannock is an unusual pawpaw tree because it holds it leaves horizontal. The pulp is a brighter yellow, the flavor is medium with a simple clear flavor. Firm flesh, good yields, 3% seed ratio, early harvest. 

Rebecca's Gold: An older variety. Known for medium-sized fruit with a sweet, rich flavor and a good golden-yellow flesh. An excellent selection from Northern California with large, very sweet and richly flavored fruit. Selected from U.C. Davis seed in 1974 by J. M. Riley. The firm, smooth skin is easy to peel and yields a succulent flesh inside, making Rebecca's Gold a favorite for canning and eating fresh. Late ripener. 

Sarah's Delight: hard to find information on this variety... Please let me know if you know anything about this one!

Sri Gold: This pawpaw produces heavy yields of medium large, delicious fruits with smooth, custardy light yellow flesh of succulent texture and low seed weight.  Flavor is bright, tropical, caramel, and delectable- not too strong or too mild.  Texture is delectable, soft, and gummy bear like.  Susquehanna x Sunflower pawpaw parentage is obvious.  Light yellow flesh color, very heavy producer, and disease resistant.

Sunflower: Well established and very desirable variety, buttery, creamy, banana custard, vanilla, very juicy, can be bland to start but has a sweet finish. One of the few self pollinating varieties, good for small gardens with room for only one tree. Late ripening from Kansas.

Tallahatchie: A KSU release. Known for medium-large fruit, good flavor, and often a creamy texture with exquisite flavor. Ms. Jones of KSU insisted that you must include this variety when making pawpaw ice cream. It has very few seeds with a seed to fruit ratio less than Shenandoah. Tallahatchie tends to bear large clusters which are impressive to see. However, it may require some thinning. Has pleasant aromas and a sweet mellow flavor with floral notes. Fruit ripens mid to late season. Fruit averages about 240 grams (9 oz) with a fruit to seed ratio of about 5%.

Wabash: Another cultivar from Peterson Pawpaws. Known for medium-large fruit with excellent flavor (often described as nutty, rich, and sweet) and a creamy texture. Often ripens mid-season. Very rich and sweet, large fruits and good yields make this a truly superior pawpaw tree! Overall excellent quality with a sweet flavor and a medium firm creamy rich texture. Wabash is prized for its abundant crops of large, sweet, high quality fruit, which often weighs over 1/2 lb. Percent seed ~ 6% by weight.

Windstar: Large, round fruit with great sweet flavor and texture and a lovely appearance.  Low seed weight. It’s a cross between 2 superior Lehman cultivars,  ‘275-48’ X ‘275-50’. Bred by Cliff England. 

Other Pawpaw Varieties 

(not available in our nursery...yet!)

Asterion—New variety, very large fruit size, low seed, excellent flavor, heavy production, late season

Atria—Large, elongated fruit, low seed, excellent flavor, heavy production, mid season

Betria—Large fruit size, low seed, excellent flavor, heavy production, mid season. We have a good supply of scion wood of this variety.

Canopus—New variety, very large fruit size, low seed, excellent flavor, very heavy production, late season

Gatria—Large fruit size, low seed, excellent flavor, heavy production, mid season

Halvin–Medium to large fruit, excellent flavor, early ripening, from SW Iowa, near the NW limit of the pawpaw’s native range.

PA Golden I and II—Med-large fruit, very heavy bearing, low seed, excellent flavor, early season

Prolific—Med-large fruit, heavy bearing, seedy, excellent flavor, mid-late season

fruit, low seed, excellent flavor, heavy bearing, early season

Regulus—Extremely heavy bearing, extremely large fruit, low seed, excellent flavor, mid season

Rigel—large fruit, heavy bearing, low seed, excellent flavor, mid season

RLG4–Medium sized fruit, excellent flavor, very early ripening, original tree from Northfield, MN.

SAA Overlease—Overlease seedling, large fruit, low seed, excellent flavor, heavy bearing, mid season.

Sundog–Seedling of a wild Iowa tree with small to medium fruit, excellent flavor, early ripening, and definitely self-fertile. This is one to plant if you only have room for one tree.

Susquehanna: Excellent Peterson variety with great flavor, low seed percentage, and large size. Sweet and buttery with a firm melting texture. Early ripening with moderate yields. 

And many, many more... 

with many more to come after that!!!

Thanks for helping to spread this blessing of a plant!