Host trees for zebra swallowtail11/14/2023 ![]() The huge seeds should be kept moist and planted outdoors in the fall to over-winter for spring germination.Our nursery has a special focus on straight and near-native plants for restoration of the natural ecosystems in Ohio. Trees can be purchased from nurseries or started from seed. Fall is another chance to find wild Pawpaws because the leaves turn a brilliant gold. They attract fly pollinators with a fetid odor, but such beauty buys forgiveness. Early spring is the best time to discover if wild Pawpaws live along riverbanks and bottomlands in your area because the striking purple flowers appear before leaves emerge. If starting your own Pawpaw patch, you hope that there are other trees within Zebra flying distance. ![]() The leaves contain highly toxic acetogenins, which deter nibbling by all critters except a leaf roller caterpillar (the only pest) and the zebra caterpillars, who embrace the toxicity to become unpalatable to birds and other predators. Unlike most small trees and shrubs, they are not eaten, even by starving deer. Pawpaws are a good choice for those of you infested with deer. It grows in wet river loam and clay, but can also withstand periods of drought once established. Obviously, the Pawpaw is a remarkably adaptable tree, able to withstand -20 degree winter temperatures and the humid heat of the tropics. Their wide range, extending Southern New England, across to Minnesota and south to the Gulf States and Florida, may have been helped by Native Americans, who relished the delicious fruit. ![]() These 10 to 15’ trees self-seed to form Pawpaw patches in the deciduous understory of bottomlands in Eastern United States. If you remember the children’s song, ‘way down yonder in the Pawpaw patch’, you already know how they grow. They have a unique floating flight pattern as the males slowly glide through the garden 2 to 4 feet above the ground, intently searching for love. The butterflies are black and white vertically-striped with proportionally the longest tails of the swallowtail clan. I rarely see the shy, night-feeding caterpillars, but the chewed leaves and adults in mid-spring and again in July are clear proof. It’s a simple rule: no Pawpaws, no Zebras. And, Pawpaws are the obligate host of that most tropical-looking member of the swallowtail butterfly family, the elegant Zebra Swallowtail, Eurytides marcellus. The mango-size fruits continue the tropical connection with texture reminiscent of papaya and a flavor like banana. Indeed, the rest of its relatives, the Annonaceae, Custard Tree family, live in the tropics. This small tree demonstrates its tropical heritage with large glossy leaves and dramatic purple flowers. ![]() Amazingly, there is a native Kansan that can join in the tropical romp, Asimina triloba, the Pawpaw tree. My zone six heart longs for the heat of the tropical twelve so I create my “Tropics of Kansas” each summer with Cannas, Caladiums, and Castor Beans. Zone envy is a common affliction among northern gardeners. NABA member Lenora Larson has graciously allowed us to reprint it here. It originally appeared in Vol 13: No.1, Spring 2008. The following article originally appeared in Butterfly Gardener, a NABA publication for members.
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