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Asimina manasota DeLaney

Manasota pawpaw

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Introduction

Manasota pawpaw (Asimina manasota) is a narrowly endemic deciduous shrub of west-central Florida, described in 2010 from longleaf pine and turkey oak sandhills associated with the upper Manatee and Myakka river regions. Tree TSAR places it in the Pygmaea Clade. Modern global taxonomic backbones accept the species. (DeLaney, 2010; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2026).

The species is a parent of the accepted natural hybrid A. × bethanyensis with A. reticulata.

Horticultural and Agricultural Uses

Manasota pawpaw is not a conventional horticultural or agricultural plant. Because it is rare and geographically restricted, its principal cultivated importance is conservation-oriented. Any propagation program should emphasize documented provenance and legally obtained material rather than general landscape distribution.

Conservation Concerns

Conservation is a major concern. The Center for Plant Conservation describes A. manasota as critically imperiled and endemic to Manatee and Sarasota counties. Its seeds are considered unsuitable for conventional long-term dry seed banking, so conservation programs have turned to tissue culture and cryopreservation. Material collected through Florida Plant Rescue in 2023 has produced multiple in-vitro germplasm lines through collaboration between Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s CREW program. (Center for Plant Conservation, 2024).

Additional Information

References and Further Reading

DeLaney, K.R. 2010. Asimina manasota (Annonaceae), a new pawpaw from west-central Florida, with notes on variation and natural hybridization within the genus. Botanical Explorer 4: 1-68.

Center for Plant Conservation. 2024. Growing the National Collection: Manasota Pawpaw (Asimina manasota). Link

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. Asimina manasota. Plants of the World Online. Link