Botanical Description

Carica, the genus to which the papaya belongs, is a taxon of flowering plants

in the family Caricaceae. Formerly treated as including about 20-25 species of

short-lived evergreen shrubs or small trees—growing to 5-10 meters tall (Herbst

2001). Carica papaya is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was

cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the

Mesoamerican classic cultures. It is also native to Central America and northern

South America. Today, the Carica papaya is cultivated in most countries with a

tropical or warm semi-tropical climate like Brazil, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka,

and the Philippines (Prior 2007). The papaya has spirally arranged leaves

confined to the top of the trunk. The leaves are large, 50-70 centimeters

diameter, deeply palmately lobed with 7 lobes. The lower trunk is conspicuously

scarred where leaves and fruit were borne. 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 fruit. Carica papaya fruit tends to be

large, being about 15-45 cm long and 10-30 cm in diameter. The Solo variety

grown in Hawaii and Florida and particularly popular in the United States is a

pear-shaped, golden-yellow variety that reaches about 16 centimeters and 1 to

2 pounds in weight (Herbst 2001). The fruit has a large center cavity that is

packed with shiny, grayish-black seeds, which are also edible but generally not

eaten (Herbst 2001). The fruit of the carica papaya is ripe when it feels soft and

its skin has attained an amber to orange hue. The fruit's taste is vaguely similar

to pineapple and peach, although much milder without the tartness, as well as

creamier and more fragrant, with a texture of slightly over-ripened cantaloupe.