No serious pests or diseases are associated with this species, but serveral leaf spots, twig and branch cankers, as well as fruit and wood rots have been reported from Indiana and Michigan. Because this species is relatively small and the wood coarse-grained, soft and weak, it is not used for timber. The heartwood is a light, greenish-yellow and the sapwood a darker color. The inner bark was used by some Native Americans to weave fiber cloth, and settlers used the bark fiber for stringing fish. The delicious, sweet, banana-flavored fruit is often eaten by wildlife before it is discovered by humans.
Wildlife species including raccoons, squirrels, opossums, foxes, bears and turkeys eat the fruit.
Pioneers used the fruits to make jellies and desserts. The seed is said to contain an alkaloid that has a stupefying effect on animals' brains. The large leaves create a semi-tropical effect in the landscape , making this an interesting tree for naturalizing stream banks and other sites too wet for many trees.