Paw, Missouri, was named after the trees. Art Nineteenth-century naturalist and painter John James Audubon included pawpaw foliage and fruits in the background of his illustration of the yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) in his classic work, The Birds of America (1827–1838). Pawpaw fruits and a pawpaw leaf are featured in the painting Still Life with Pawpaws (circa 1870–1875) by Edward Edmondson, Jr. (1830–1884), at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio. Other The third Thursday in September has been designated as National Pawpaw Day by the National Day Calendar. It was announced on September 19, 2019, at Kentucky State University's monthly sustainable agriculture workshop, the Third Thursday Thing. The pawpaw was designated as Ohio's state native fruit in 2009. Since 1999, the Ohio Pawpaw Growers' Association has sponsored an annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival at Lake Snowden, near Albany, Ohio. Since 2012, Delaware's Alapocas Run State Park has hosted an annual Pawpaw Folk Festival featuring tastings of the fruit. The larva of the Pawpaw sphinx moth feeds on pawpaw leaves. Since 2019, the pawpaw has been the official state fruit tree of Missouri. The endangered French variety of Missouri is known by outsiders and some native speakers as "Paw-Paw French." See also Meiogyne cylindrocarpa (fingersop) References Further reading External links Kentucky State University Pawpaw Program The Pawpaw: Foraging For America's Forgotten Fruit'' triloba Crops originating from North America Edible fruits Fiber plants Medicinal plants of North America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of the North-Central United States Trees of the Northeastern United States Trees of the Southern United States Trees of Ontario Trees of the South-Central United States Trees of the Great Lakes region (North America) Trees of the United States Fruit trees Fruits originating in North America Trees of North America Trees of the Eastern United States Trees of Canada Trees of Eastern Canada