Dwarf Pawpaw & Gopher Tortoise

 

Mature dwarf paw paw 'tree'... Height waist high to chest high.

Loaded with fruit this year... But tiny!

 They're starting to drop... I pick them up and eat... plant seeds in pots. I tried planting seeds in flower garden a number of years ago when I got a few fruit... Unfortunately none came up...

I may need to try scarification.

Fruit on regular tree is still hard...

So bizarre watching gopher tortoise eating cnidoscolus... Aka "7 minute itch". I wouldn't want to try it...

Just brushing against cnidoscolus stimulosus feels like getting attacked by fire ants... and if unlucky enough to scratch irritated skin, may continue to scratch for the rest of the day!

Imagine getting a mouthful of that! But I see the tortoises browsing the plant every summer!

Actually, I may have some idea of how a mouthful of  cnidoscolus might feel...

I had a mouthful of fire ants yesterday... Pretty funny, grabbed a handful of potato chips from the bottom of bag, popped in mouth without examining... Had to pick fire ants off my tongue using mirror!