The four-petal pawpaw is endemic and rare in Florida. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (2001) located 950 total plants on 17 sites in Martin and Palm Beach Counties, more than half of which grew on privately owned land (Cox 2001 in: Center for Plant Conservation 2006). Populations not growing in protected park areas are in rapid decline due to coastal development, fire suppression, and human disturbance (USFWS 1998).