PAPAYA FAMILY (CARICACEAE*) 



174. Lechosa, papaya 



Papaya, a familiar small tree with distinctive 

 pungent odor, is widely grown for its delicious 

 edible fruits and also is naturalized. It is easily 

 recognized by: (1) usually unbranched, soft, suc- 

 culent trunk with thin milky sap, bearing a clus- 

 ter of alternate spreading leaves at apex ; (2) large 

 long-petioled leaves with palmately 7- or 9-lobed 

 blades, deeply cut into smaller long- or short- 

 pointed lobes; (3) male and female flowers whitish 

 or pale yellow, on different plants (dioecious), the 

 narrow tubular male flowers 1-1 V2 inches long and 

 numerous in branched clusters, and the larger fe- 

 male flowers about 2 inches long, with 5 spreading 

 petals and borne nearly stalkless, single or a few 

 together at base of a leaf; and (4) fruit clustered 

 around the trunk, usually 6-15 inches long, oblong, 

 obovoid, or rounded, and short- pointed. 



A rapidly growing short-lived evergreen shrub 

 or tree to 20 fe«t tall, with tnmk usually less than 

 8 inches in diameter (rarely to 24 feet high and 16 

 inches in diameter) and with a narrow crown. 

 The bark is greenish or grayish brown to light 

 gray, smooth, with ]3rominent broad to nearly 

 horizontal leaf scars. The greenish or yellowish 

 inner bark has a spicy or slightly bitter taste. Be- 

 cause of the soft almost herbaceous stem and short, 

 life of a few years, this species is also regarded as 

 a giant perennial herb rather than a tree. 



Upper leaves are erect spreading and lower 

 leaves drooping. The stout green petioles are 

 16-24 inches or more in length, round and hollow. 

 Leaf blades are rounded in outline, 8-24 inches in 

 diameter, slightly thickened and fleshy, dull light 

 green above and beneath pale whitish green and 

 covered with a bloom. 



The slender lateral cluster (panicle) of many 

 fragrant male flowers is 6-24 inches long or longer. 

 A male flower has short 5-toothed calyx about Vie 

 inch long; whitish corolla of narrow funnel- 

 shaped tube about %-iy4 inches long and 5 widely 

 spreading narrow oblong lobes more than 1/2 inch 

 long and extending 1 inch or more across; 10 yel- 

 lowish stamens inserted in throat of corolla tube, 

 5 stalkless and 5 short-stalked; and rudimentary 

 narrow pistil about % inch long. The short- 

 stalked female flowers have 5-toothed gi-een calyx 

 %6~% inch long, 5 twisted narrow lance-shaped 

 fleshy pale yellow petals about 2 inches long, soon 

 falling ; and pale yellow pistil %-li/4 inches long 

 with large elliptic or round ovary, 1-celled with 5 

 ridges covered with ovules, and 5 spreading stalk- 

 less much-lobed stigmas. Rarely perfect flowers 

 with both stamens and a pistil are produced 

 (polygamous). 



Several to many short-stalked fruits (berries) 

 hang down from the trunk of a female tree near 

 its summit, turning from green to orange at ma- 

 turity. The soft orange flesh 1-2 inches thick with 



Carica papaya L.* 



milky juice surrounds a large central cavity con- 

 taining many rounded blackish seeds about %6 

 inch in diameter, which are enclosed in a gelati- 

 nous membrane (aril). There are about 8,000 

 seeds to a pound. In flower and fruit probably 

 through the year. 



The whitish or pale yellow wood is very soft, 

 vei-y lightweight, and fleshy. There is a large 

 white pith, and the center of the trunk is hollow 

 except at nodes. The wood is not used. 



Papaya is one of the most popular tropical 

 fruits. Races differ in size and shape of fruit. 

 Like large melons, giant papayas may reach 18 

 inches in length and weigh as much as 20 pounds, 

 while the fruits of wild plants often are small, 

 sometimes only 3 inches long, and bitter flavored. 

 This esteemed melonlike fruit is served at the 

 breakfast table or as a dessert, often flavored with 

 juice of limes, but it is also made into preserves 

 and sherbets. The juice is also extracted and 

 canned. Green papayas can be cooked as a vege- 

 table like squash. 



The milky latex or juice of the fruit, leaves, and 

 other parts of the plant contains the enzyme 

 papain (papaina) which, like pepsin, digests pro- 

 teins and curdles milk. Thus, papayas when eaten 

 aid in digestion of other foods. Tough meat is 

 made tender by wrapping it in papaya leaves for 

 a few hours, by washing in water containing the 

 juice, or by rubbing the juice on. Or the leaves 

 can be boiled with the meat, but if the time is too 

 long or the juice too concentrated, the meat may 

 fall apart in shreds. Though the tenderizing prop- 

 erty of papaya leaves has long been common 

 knowledge of tropical residents and known also to 

 botanists, only in recent years have meat tenderiz- 

 ers prepared from this plant become available 

 commercially. 



Other applications of this enzyme are medici- 

 nally to aid digestion in cases of dyspepsia and for 

 clarifying beer. In some areas the seeds, juice, 

 flowers, and leaves have served in home remedies. 

 Also the leaves have been stewed as greens. The 

 male flowers may be a source of honey. It is re- 

 ported that the leaves have been employed in place 

 of soap for washing delicate fabrics. Children 

 make flutes from the hollow petioles. 



Many races vary in size and quality of fruit. 

 The plants are also attractive ornamentals. 

 Through the tropics they grow almost as weeds, 

 bearing fruit the first year from seed and spread- 

 ing along roadsides and in waste places. Plants 

 are being heavily affected by diseases, especially 

 viruses. 



Widely cultivated, escaping, and naturalized in 

 Puerto Rico. Also on Mona, Vieques, St. Croix, 

 St. Thomas, St. John, and Tortola. 



RANGE.^Native in tropical America, the origi- 



374 



