The beautiful pawpaw is a low shrub with a stout taproot.
Seeds are about the shape and size of brown beans.
The plant resprouts readily from the roots after the top is destroyed by fire or mowing. The absence of such disturbance leads to the plant's eventual demise. The pleasantly scented flowers have linear, creamy white petals that are straight when the flower opens, then becoming recurved. Flowering tends to occur only after fire or mowing on new growth. This plant is known from Pine Island, northern Lee County, southern Charlotte, and Orange counties, Florida.