I can't tell for sure from your pictures, but I think it's a good possibility. Pawpaws should be able to grow in your area and are common in areas not too far from Savannah. A picture showing leaf detail and arrangement would help.

Is this a recent photo? Pawpaw's are deciduous, with flowers emerging in midspring before the leaves emerge. And the leaves don't look quite right, although difficult to see clearly from the photo - they look to be missing the rather distinctive sharp point at the tip and not showing characteristic venation. Fruit is typically produced in clusters as well, not singly.

But they do grow in Georgia - in fact, they are native to most of the southeast well up into New England and across much of the midwest.

The leaves look a bit too thick to be Paw Paw, Asimina triloba. And as stated, they are deciduous so if these pictures are current, it would not be Asimina triloba.

It is not indigenous to the Savannah area, but that doesn't mean someone didn't plant one there if it is it.

It looks like Illicium to me.

Here's some pics for comparison. They're fairly common in wet wooded areas along the gulf coast.

Here is a link that might be useful: LA ecos

Gardengal, it is a recent photo. I can't believe with all of the web surfing and reading I've done that I missed the deciduous part about them.

Brandon, I am now encouraged and hopeful that we have a PawPaw Tree in the woods.

Since I spotted the tree & the fruit last summer, it's very possible that this photo is not of the right tree. You know how it is when you think you remember the exact spot. I guess at this point I'll have to wait until spring and watch for the blooms on a tree without any leaves. Now that I know what I'm looking for, the blooms should be very easy to spot.

Thanks to you both for responding so promptly. You'll hear from me again in the spring with new pics of flowers, if indeed, it turns out to be a PawPaw. I'm not giving up on finding a native PawPaw.

Bon

Alabamatreehugger, what an awesome website. Yes, I think you've named the mystery tree. Drum roll please, it is indeed, an Illicium. I'm so impressed.

Esh_ga, I found a website that had counties in Georgia where PawPaws had been documented. You're correct, it would be something to report to the proper authorities if there is a PawPaw found in Savannah.

I went back out there today (between rain) and there is a tree next to this one that is non decidious. I'm going to keep watching. Now that I know what the blooms look like on the PawPaw and the Illicium, my eyes will be peeled. The tree I saw last summer had some type of fruit on it. I even picked it and brought it home to show my husband. Geez, why didn't I take a picture! For some reason I've recently become very interested in trees native to our area. I like trying to find out what's growing around me. It's really interesting.

My late father & his father before him were in the timber business. I should have paid more attention!

Thanks everyone. I'm really excited that I've learned something today.

Bon

Bon,

I don't think finding one pawpaw would really be anything to report. I bet the map you saw was from the USDA's NRCS. If so, those maps only show native and reported naturalized populations, not just the presents of the species. I've actually looked at Savannah's weather and climate statistics lately (for an unrelated project) and see no reason that pawpaws couldn't do fine there.

Did you by any chance crush a leaf from the plant in your pictures? If so, did it have a strong aroma? I love the smell of illicium leaves. If it is an illicium, it would be worth another trip through the woods just to smell the leaves.

Brandon, you're right again. The map was from the USDA's NRCS. Since I believe Chatham and Bryan counties were not indicated on the distribution map, I assumed they're not supposed to be here. I'm glad you cleared that up for me.

Today when I take my dog for her walk, I'll be sure to crush some leaves of the illicium. She's also enjoying my new interest in the woods. LOL

Thanks again, Brandon.

Bon

Bon, it's very possible you could have seen Asimina parviflora (dwarf PawPaw), I see those here along the coast in the same areas I see the Illiciums.

Generally A.parviflora is more common along the coastal plain, while A.triloba is more common up in the piedmont.

Is the OP near Savannah? If so, how can this be Florida Anise which is restricted to Decatur County in Georgia?
Since the pics look like Sweetleaf, which is commonly found on the Coastal Plain from Delaware to Florida, I'd say Sweetleaf or Symplocos tinctoria.
BTW, even in mid-Atlantic, sometimes Sweetleaf holds it's foliage in Winter.

Hmm, that's certainly a good possibility.

"...how can this be Florida Anise which is restricted to Decatur County in Georgia?"

Maybe it didn't know it was restricted.

Sam, if you are basing that comment on the USDA NRCS map, you might want to research what the map actually means. If not, maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're talking about.

At this point, I don't think we have enough info to tell what the plant in question is. Maybe Love_savannah has done more research than we know about and has an answer. If not, more info (more detailed pics, etc) will probably be needed for an ID. A quick trip to the local ag extension office with a sample (that can be examined first-hand) might result in a proper ID with less guessing.

If you do find a suspected pawpaw after the deciduous trees leaf out, crush one and smell it. It is NOT pleasant, sometimes being described as smelling like diesel fuel. The smell confirmed the ID for me the first time I found pawpaw in a river floodplain in southern Michigan.

A crushed paw paw leaf smells like green bell pepper to ME.

love_Savannah,
I also love the Sweetleaf Tree. Although the tall ones have their flowers at the top, the ones along the edge will often have low branches. Wonderful fragrance!
This is a native tree found in wet, wooded areas. Protect your Sweetleaf, they are the larval host to King's Hairstreak, a beautiful butterfly.
Sam

Yep, Symplocos tinctoria.

Mystery solved! The leaves do look similar. Sam, I love these trees and I'm very excited to learn that they're a host plant for the King's Hairstreak. I checked out some web pics of KH's and, yes, they are beautiful. I love photographing butterflies. Maybe I'll capture a KH this year. We do love our butterflies around here.

Thanks for the input, everybody.

PS
I'm still not giving up on finding a pawpaw. LOL

Well, guys & gals, my hopes of finding a pawpaw tree have been dashed. The mystery fruit I saw last year was indeed on the sweetleaf tree. In my OP, I stated that the fruit looked deformed. Take a look at the pics below and you'll see what I meant by that. (This year, I got pics!) Some of the trees have fruit and some don't. Also, these fruits are all strange looking and each one is shaped differently.

Anyway, it's not a pawpaw, but the sweetleaf is certainly a very interesting tree.

{{gwi:334080}}

Isn't this the coolest looking thing?

{{gwi:334081}}

Thanks for all of the input, everyone. I sure learned a lot from all of you.

The end!

Bon

It's a gall, check out Duke's factsheet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sweetleaf Factsheet

Gall...that's a new one on me. Thanks for the link, Sam_md. I'll do some research on this.

Bon

I am aware this thread is over a decade old but it pops up on google when you search for pawpaws in Savannah, and I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that YES, pawpaws are native to Savannah, it's just that dwarf/small-flower pawpaws (asimina parviflora) are more common this far south than common pawpaws (asimina triloba).

I've found OVER thirty small-flower pawpaws on Roger Warlick Drive, along the walking path that leads to the recreation field, as on July 14th 2021. Many of the plants even have fruit, and there are more on the other side of the road as well!

If you are also wandering here from google, looking for where to find pawpaws in Savannah, Georgia, check out iNaturalist.org, / iNaturalist, it's a world-wide database of plants and animals that people submit, so you can find any plants that people have found in your area!

Even if none show up where you are, don't be dismayed! You might be the first person on the site to obverse them, like I was with the /literally more than thirty/ plants I found just in a few days of looking! The more people who add to the database, the more locations we'll be able to share!

None of the pictures are showing up from the earlier posts, but iNaturalist is also an awesome way to learn how to identify the plants, because you can see hundreds of examples, taken at all different times of the year!

Long post short: Pawpaws can 100% be found in Savannah, Georgia, it will just most likely be the smaller small-flower pawpaws instead of the larger common pawpaws. But if just one person has a pawpaw tree that animals are allowed to eat from, those seeds will spread and common pawpaws might become more common here too! Don't give up hope! Check out iNaturalist to see if there are any that have been seen near you, and even if there aren't, it doesn't mean there aren't any, it just means you can be the first to add them!