PAPAYA FAMILY 147 



Viol2- vittata. Flowers white, small. Leaves narrow, 4-12 

 in. long. Low grounds. Blooming in winter and spring. 

 Fla and Ga. to Texas. 



Viola primulifolia. Flowers white, small. Leaves oblong or 

 broadest below middle, leaf-stalks usually winged. Damp 

 soil. Blooming in winter and spring. Fla. to New Bruns- 

 wick and Texas. 



PAPAYA FAMILY (Caricaceae) 



Small tree with crown of large, long-stalked, deeply lobed 

 leaves. Sap milky. Flowers yellowish, sepals 5, petals 5, 

 stamens 10. Fruit large, edible, borne close to the trunk. 



Papaya. Papaia. Melon Pap aw (Carica Papaya) 



This tropical plant was brought by the Spaniards to 

 Florida, and had become naturalized before 1788, when 

 the French botanist Andre Michaux recorded that he found 

 it growing wild not far from Spruce Creek, north of New 

 Smyrna. In its wild state it is not uncommon now near 

 the coast of southern Florida, but the fruit is smaller and 

 of less agreeable flavor than that of the cultivated vari- 

 eties. 



The trees, which are of rapid growth, like giant herba- 

 ceous plants, are ornamental, and the cultivated varieties 

 yield immense crops of fruit. The green fruit may be 

 cooked as a vegetable; the ripe fruit is eaten as a break- 

 fast or dessert fruit or in salads, and is made into marma- 

 lade. 



The drug papain is secured from the papaya, and its 

 presence in the plant gives the leaves a remarkable effect 

 on raw meat, which, through a somewhat digestive proc- 

 ess, is made tender when wrapped in them for a short 

 time. 



