Papayales.] 



PAPAYACEiE. 



321 



Order CVIII. PAPAYACE.E.— Papayaus. 



Papayse, Agardh Classes. (1824|.— Cariceae, Tiirpin in AH. du Diet, des Sc. Nat. ( ? ) — Papayaceae, Von 

 Martius Conspectus, No. 169. {183b); Endl.cc; Meismr , p . V2.3 ; Wiyht. IllHStr.2. 33.— Modec- 

 ce«, Endl. p. y27. 



Diagnosis.— Papa?/aZ Exogens, ivith monopetalous floxoers, having no scales in the throat 



of the females. 

 Trees or shrubs, sometimes yielding aii acrid milky jiiice. Leaves alternate, lobed, 

 on long taper petioles. Flowers in axillary racemes or solitary, unisexual. Calyx infe- 

 rior, minute, 5-toothed. Corolla monopetalous, with 5 lobes. 

 S Stamens definite, epipetalous ; anthers erect, spUtting longi- 

 tudinally, occasionally partly imperfect. $ Ovary free, 1 -celled, 

 with 3 to 5 parietal polyspermous placentae ; stigma 3- 5-lobed, 

 lacerated. Finiit succulent, or dehiscent, 1 -celled, ^\ith pari- 

 etal placentae. Seeds enveloped in a loose mucous coat, with 

 a brittle pitted testa ; embryo in the axis of fleshy albumen, 

 with flat cotyledons and a taper radicle turned towards the hilum. 

 It was the opinion of Jussieu that the genus upon which this 

 Order was originally founded held a sort of middle station between 

 Nettleworts and Cucurbits. Auguste de St. Hilau-e has, how- 

 ever, remarked upon this subject, that the only relation it has 

 with Urtical plants consists m the separation of sexes, milky juice, 

 habit, which is hke that of some species of Ficus, foUage, which is 

 not very different from that of Cecropia, and the position of its 

 stigmas ; and to these he attached httle importance. But the 

 Papaw tree, instead of standing in the system almost alone, as it 

 has hitherto done, appears to be in reahty the associate of all the 

 unisexual genera hitherto referred to the Passionworts ; for 

 if its structure be scrutinised carefully it \\ill be found to differ 

 from that Order in nothmg except having a fruit with 5 instead of 

 3 parietal placentae, in its separate sexes, and the absence of the 

 coronet, which in some form or other is so characteristic of the 

 Violal AlUance. On the other hand, it may be regarded as 

 a Cucurbitaceous plant \\ith a free ovary, 5 placentae, and albu- 

 minous seeds ; and hi that point of view it equally claims kindred 

 with the unisexual Passionworts. The opinion of Jussieu then 

 seems to have been right, as it has so often proved 

 to be in difficult cases. 



The species of Carica are natives of South Ame- 

 rica, and unknown, except as objects of cultivation, 

 beyond that continent ; the other genera belong to 

 the temperate parts and tropics of the Old World. 



The fruit of the Papaw (Carica Papaya) is eaten, 

 when cooked, and is esteemed by some persons ; but 

 it appeal's to have little to recommend it. Its great 

 peculiarities are, that the juice of the unripe finiit is 

 a most powerful and efficient vermifuge (the powder of the seed answers the same pur- 

 pose), and that a constituent of this juice is fibrine, a principle otherwise supposed 

 pecuhar to the animal kmgdom and to Fungals. The tree has, moreover, the singular 

 property of rendering the toughest animal substances tender, by causing a separation of 

 the muscular fibre ; its very vapour even does this ; newly-killed meat suspended among 

 the leaves, and even old hogs and old poultry, when fed on the leaves and fruit, become 

 tender in a few hours. See an excellent account of the Papaw by Hooker m the Bot. 

 Mag. 2898. Dr. Wight observes that the seeds, when chewed, yield, in a very marked 

 degree, the pungency and flavom- of Tropaeolum majus. The excessive acridity which 

 renders the Papaw an active vennifuge,is indicated by the disgusting and overpowermg 

 odom- pf its roots, which smeU hke decaying Radishes. The leaves are used by negi-oes 



Fig. CCXXI. 



Fig. CCXXI.— Carica Papaya. 



flower: 



2. O flower ; 3. section of ovary 

 Y 



4. section of seed. 



