Ruby Keenan Pawpaw

Ruby Keenan was selected in 1982 in New York by breeder John Gordon — the same breeder documented elsewhere in this database as the source of the PA-Golden series — as a seedling of the Overleese variety, inheriting Overleese's large-fruit tendency while developing its own distinct flavor. It has been preserved in the USDA-ARS collection at the H.R. Benson research farm, part of Kentucky State University's pawpaw program, underscoring its recognized value to the broader germplasm collection. The fruit is medium-sized with golden-green skin and notably smooth, silky, deep-yellow flesh, genuinely distinguished among pawpaw varieties by a floral vanilla note alongside its mango-forward sweetness, ripening in September.