As Ohio University's Post reports, Gov. Ted Strickland made the pawpaw Ohio's native state fruit. State Senator Jimmy Stewart had proposed the pawpaw for recognition for the past 5 years, seeing it as a way to bring in tourists. The Ohio Pawpaw Festival will celebrate its 11th birthday this year.

The pawpaw wasn't a shoe-in, however. Senator Stewart originally proposed the pawpaw be the state's official fruit. That distinction went to the tomato (which, strangely enough, is legally a vegetable , but botanically a fruit). Senator Stewart was able to use the pawpaw's native status to win the official state recognition.

"With a texture comparable to an avocado’s fruit and a taste that blends tropical flavors such as banana and mango, the pawpaw is native to 26 states, according to the Kentucky State University pawpaw research program." In fact, the pawpaw is the only edible fruit that is native to Ohio.

I am glad to see that the pawpaw is becoming more popular. This will hopefully inspire more people to grow this fun fruit. Have you ever tried to grow a pawpaw tree?

_{Photo © Flickr user m-louis}

Jayedee was so excited to name last week's mystery tree that she did it twice. That was indeed the mango tree (Mangifera indica). I didn't know it was so revered in Indian culture until last week. Good job jayedee!

Your clues for this week:

• The blossoms smell like orange blossoms, inspiring the common name for this shrub


• This evergreen shrub grows in Zones 8-11


• The shrub is native to China and Japan


• Watch out for those red seeds - they're pretty sticky.

Howdy and welcome to Mystery Monday! We had three people guess last week's Mystery shrub correctly - Coffee (Coffea arabica). Chris named it first, followed by Eva and Lisa. Good job!

This week's clues:

• I must have my Eat New Fruits Challenge on the mind. This tree has edible fruit.


• This tree is in the same family as poison ivy - the reason you don't eat the fruit's skin. Other parts of the tree are also toxic.


• In India, this is a symbol of love

Ready...set...name that tree!

My last vacation to Mexico was a gastronomical adventure. I tried, among other things, manta ray and cow lips. We made daily stops at Gigante, a huge supermarket and shopping center. When I wasn't trying out new cheeses (I am a cheese fiend!), I was picking out new fruits to sample.

Every morning, we would make fruit smoothies from a combination of new fruits and standards like strawberries and peaches. A favorite was finger bananas --about the size of a thumb and sweeter than standard bananas. Ah, the memories....

As we begin the New Year, I invite you to join my "Eat New Fruits Challenge". It can be as simple as trying new varieties of apples, to finding exotic fruits like rambutans and dragonfruit. I try new fruits all the time and report my personal opinions of them, as do other participants.

What new fruits will you try first?

• "Eat New Fruits Challenge"