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? Papaya
Papaya trunk with immature fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Brassicales Family: Caricaceae Genus: Carica Species: Carica papaya
Binomial name
Carica papaya L.

The papaya, also known as mamao, tree melon, or pawpaw (not to be confused with the true pawpaw), is the fruit of the tree Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. Originally from southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America, the papaya is now cultivated in most tropical countries.

It is a small unbranched tree, the single stem growing to 5-10 m tall, with the spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk; the lower trunk is conspicuously scarred with the leaf scars of where older leaves and fruit were borne. The leaves are large, 50-70 cm diameter, deeply palmately lobed with 7 lobes. The flowers are produced in the axils of the leaves, maturing into the large 15-45 cm long, 10-30 cm diameter fruit. The fruit is ripe when it feels soft (like a ripe avocado or a bit softer) and its skin has attained an amber to orange hue.

Papaya is rich in an enzyme called papain, a protease which is useful in tenderizing meat, and other proteins. Its utility is in breaking down the tough meat fibers and it has been utilized for thousands of years in its native South America. It is included as a component in powdered meat tenderizers. Papaya enzyme is also marketed in tablet form to remedy digestive problems.

The black seeds are edible, and have a sharp, spicy taste. They are sometimes ground up and used as a substitute for black pepper.

External links

• Fruits of Warm Climates: Papaya and Related Species
• California Rare Fruit Growers: Papaya Fruit Facts.

Papaya leaf

Papaya flowers

Arrangement of sliced and whole papayas

tree and fruit, from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887)

tree and flowers, from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887)

This article is based on the article "Papayas" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.