A field guide to America's largest native fruit

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Overleese Pawpaw

Wild and Heirloom

Overleese is a Wild and Heirloom variety, bred by W.B. Ward, mid to late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan.

Flavor
Rich, full pawpaw flavor; long valued as a benchmark variety
Size
Medium, about 6 oz (170 g)
Seed
Fleshy (~6% seed by weight)
Ripening
Mid to late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan
Productivity
Reliable; clusters well
Notes
A long-standing standard for fruit size and flavor and a parent of NC-1 and Shenandoah. Borne in clusters of three to five.

What growers say

Overleese pawpaw is a long-standing benchmark variety, valued for rich, full pawpaw flavor and a consistent, creamy texture; one grower called a ripe fruit delicious, sweet and tropical with no bitter or off flavors. Opinion is not unanimous, and one grower judged it only slightly better than its peers, but its reputation as a standard for size and flavor endures. Borne in clusters, it ripens mid to late season into early October and is a parent of both NC-1 and Shenandoah.

Since Sunflower is from Kansas, and NC-1 is a hybrid of Davis (from Michigan) x Overleese (from Indiana), the result might be a little more widely adaptable.

Source

Today's fruit was DELICIOUS. Perfect, creamy, consistent texture. Delicious flavour, sweet and tropical, no bitter flavors or 'off' flavors.

Source

Drawn from grower discussions on growingfruit.org

Where to buy Overleese pawpaw trees

Overleese pawpaw trees ship from 10 nurseries; 1 of the 6 PawpawMap confirmed has them in stock as of Aug 9, 2026.

Each line shows the date PawpawMap last confirmed that seller's stock. Spot a listing that is wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.

Nursery Ships

Edible Landscaping

Afton, VA

Grafted named varieties (sold out) plus Select seedling in stock; orders ship in ~2 weeks.

Nursery Ships

England's Orchard and Nursery

McKee, KY

Grafted pawpaw trees are local pickup only; pawpaw seeds and scionwood available by mail.

Nursery Ships

One Green World

Portland, OR

Ships seeds and plants to all 50 states; pawpaw varieties currently on email-when-available pre-order.

Nursery Ships

Perry Permaculture

Perry, MI

Grafted pawpaw trees ship in fall (~October); one of two MI Peterson-pawpaw licensees.

Nursery

Sleepy Gap Pawpaws

Arden, NC

Grafted Peterson/KSU trees; sells out fast each season.

PricingGrafted trees $45

Nursery Ships

West Farm Nursery

Branchburg, NJ

Grafted Peterson and KSU pawpaw cultivars, pickup from mid-June; some trees sold or shipped via eBay; hosts NOFA-NJ workshops.

Pricing$110 to $160

Related cultivars

Wild and Heirloom

Sunflower

Late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan

Sweet and pleasant; a widely grown classic

Wild and Heirloom

NC-1

Mid season, ripening in late summer to early fall

Sweet and full-flavored with an avocado-like consistency and little bitterness

Wild and Heirloom

Davis

Mid to late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan

Good, mild pawpaw flavor

Wild and Heirloom

Taytwo

Late season, ripening around October 10 in Michigan

Mild, sweet pawpaw flavor

Wild and Heirloom

Pennsylvania Golden

Early season, ripening in late September

Classic, strong wild pawpaw flavor

Wild and Heirloom

Mango

Late season, September to October

Rich, candied-banana flavor with vivid orange-yellow pulp

Wild and Heirloom

Wells

Mid to late September

Reported sweet, but flavor and other traits are not authoritatively documented

Wild and Heirloom

Prolific

Late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan

Sweet, yellow-fleshed fruit; sets heavily, often without hand pollination

Wild and Heirloom

Taylor

Late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan

Mild pawpaw flavor; yellow flesh with green skin

Wild and Heirloom

Uncle Tom

Mid season, ripening mid-September in Indiana

Historic selection valued more for its place in pawpaw history than for documented flavor

Wild and Heirloom

Ketter

Early season

Mild but very rich flavor, neither insipid nor cloying; medium-yellow flesh

Wild and Heirloom

Dr. Potter

Late season

Mild flavor; rich yellow flesh

Wild and Heirloom

Buckman

Late to very late season

Mild flavor with white flesh

Wild and Heirloom

Wilson

Mid season, ripening in September in Kentucky

Sweet, banana-pear flavor with a custard texture

Wild and Heirloom

Halvin

Early season, ripening late August in Kentucky

Very sweet and smooth with no aftertaste and a hint of pineapple

Wild and Heirloom

IXL

Late season

Wild and Heirloom

Rebecca's Gold

Mid to late season, ripening September to October

Very sweet and richly flavored

Wild and Heirloom

Lynn's Favorite

Late season, ripening the second week of October in Michigan

Wild and Heirloom

Mary Foos Johnson

Late season, ripening the first week of October in Michigan

Wild and Heirloom

Sweet Alice

Late season, ripening in early October

Wild and Heirloom

Horn's White

Late season

Unusually white, creamy, very sweet flesh with coconut and cherimoya notes

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