Papaya
Papaya tree and fruit, from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Angiosperms
Eudicots
Rosids
Brassicales
Caricaceae
Genus: Carica
Species: C. papaya
Binomial name
Carica papaya
L.
The papaya (from Carib via Spanish) is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was first cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classic cultures. It is often called a "paw paw" or a "big melon" but the North American pawpaw is a different species, in the genus Asimina.
It is a large tree-like plant, with a single stem growing from 5 to 10 metres (16 to 33 ft) tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk. The lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne. The leaves are large, 50–70 centimetres (20–28 in) diameter, deeply palmately lobed with 7 lobes. The tree is usually unbranched if unlopped. The flowers are similar in shape to the flowers of the Plumeria but are much smaller and wax-like. They appear on the axils of the leaves, maturing into the large 15–45 centimetres (5.9–18 in) long, 10–30 centimetres (3.9–12 in) 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.
It is the first fruit tree to have its genome deciphered.
Originally from southern Mexico, particularly Chiapas and Veracruz, Central America and northern South America, the papaya is now cultivated in most tropical countries, such as Brazil, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Jamaica.
The papaya fruit is susceptible to the Papaya Fruit Fly. This wasp-like fly lays its eggs in young fruit. In cultivation it grows rapidly fruiting within 3 years, however it is highly frost sensitive.
In the 1990s, two varieties of papaya, SunUp and Rainbow, that had been genetically-modified to be resistant to the papaya ring spot virus, were introduced into Hawaii. By 2004, non-genetically modified and organic papayas throughout Hawaii had experienced hybridization with the genetically-modified varieties.
Uses
Papaya has many uses, including as food, as cooking aid, in medicine. The stem and the bark are also used in rope production.
Gastronomy
The ripe fruit is usually eaten raw, without skin or seeds. The unripe green fruit of papaya can be eaten cooked, usually in curries, salads and stews. It has a relatively high amount of pectin, which can be used to make jellies.
