A long lost native fruit of southern Ontario will be front and centre at this year's Harrow Fair.

The fair kicks off Thursday. This year features a paw paw dessert competition.

Dan Bissonnette is behind the effort to popularize the fruit that looks like a large misshapen pear.

Bissonnette said habitat loss over the years destroyed the tree in Ontario but he and other growers are trying to revive it:

"To me, the paw paw is the epitome of our native trees that can do so much good, but is so little known. It is like the poster child of lost native unknown trees," Bissonnette said.

On Sept. 6, Bissonnette will launch a book entitled, The Paw Paw Growers Guide for Ontario.