Pawpaw Heaven
by Hank Guarisco (Lawrence)

Yesterday evening as I went out into my special forest to find pawpaws,
a cold front finally arrived after a gray-sky day. It started to sprinkle, creating a soft staccato upon the leaves as I traveled on foot deeper into the woods. The first few groves of pawpaw trees were small and did not have any fruit, so I progressed along a dry stream bed to an area that had yielded fruit for so many years. I remember the first autumn I was shown pawpaw trees ripe with fruit. It was 1970 on a botany field trip and the woods were filled with the golden light of the season from the deepening afternoon sun as it filtered through the yellow leaves on the trees that surrounded us. I returned to the dorm where I was living and shared some of these special fruits with a few close friends. Since that time, I have returned here most of the past 36 autumns to experience this wonderful gift and share it with friends.

These woods are my cathedral, as sacred as any church. Yesterday, I stopped and prayed, thanking God for this gift – the gift of life and the fruit from the forest which Nature provides. After the prayer, I opened my eyes to the hushed serenity of the small pawpaw grove. I shook a tree and one most perfect fruit fell to the ground beside me. It was perfectly ripe and I began to eat it thoughtfully. This was my sacrament. I made the yearly pilgrimage into this sacred forest, ate the fruit, then retraced my steps as the pawpaw became part of me. The light was fading, but it was of no concern since I had been here many, many times and could probably find my way in complete darkness if the occasion presented itself. I heard several gunshots in the distance, probably hunters, and happened upon a small trail which I knew would lead directly to my car about half a mile ahead. I passed many more stands of pawpaw trees in the dim light. Pawpaws bruise very easily, so I wrap each fruit in several pawpaw leaves, then place them in a box lined with bubble-wrap or more leaves for additional padding.

In addition to being a delicious food (pawpaws taste somewhat like a mango, pear and banana combined), recent research has revealed parts of the pawpaw tree have anticancer properties. They are also known as “custard apples” and “‘possum bananas.” The tree has a slender, graceful trunk and grows as understory vegetation in deep, moist forests, usually along creeks. The leaves are the only food source of caterpillars of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly.

There are few other special events that etch the passing seasons deeply into my soul and root me to this place in eastern Kansas.

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