STANDLEY TREES AND SHEUBS OF MEXICO. 851 



2. CARICA L. Sp. PI. 1036. 1753. 



Trees with simple trunks ; leaves simple, deeply incised-lobate ; flowers usually 

 dioecious, axillary ; fruit 1 or 5-celled. 



The genus consists of about 25 species, all natives of tropical America. 



Fi'uit 5-celled ; stigmas lobed only at apex 1. C. cauliflora. 



Fruit 1-celled ; stigmas irregularly divided or dichotomous almost or quite 

 to the base 2. C. papaya. 



1. Carica cauliflora Jacq. PI. Hort. Schonbr. 3: 33. pi. 311. 1776. 

 Vasconcellea hoissieri A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 15^: 415. 1864. 

 Carica hoissieri Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 1*: 481. 1880. 



Veracruz and Chiapas, and probably elswhere; cultivated and perhaps also 

 native. Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela. 



Trunk about 3.5 meters high, leafy at the top ; leaves large, cordate at base, 

 lobed halfway to base or less, the lobes acuminate and with remote acuminate 

 teeth, glabrous ; flowers inodorous, the staminate 3 to 3.5 cm. long, the pistillate 

 flowers of about the same size ; fruit ovoid, pointed, narrowed at base, yellow, 

 8 cm. long or larger. " Papayo de montana " (El Salvador). 



2. Carica papaya L. Sp. PI. 1036. 1753. 

 Papaya vulgaris DC. in Lam. Encycl. 5: 2. 1804. 

 Carica quinqueloha Sess§ & Moc. Fl. Mex. 255. 1896. 



Commonly cultivated in all the warmer parts of Mexico and wild in many 

 places. Southern Florida, West Indies, and Central and South America ; culti- 

 vated in the tropics of the Old World. 



Trunk sometimes 9 meters high and 25 cm. in diameter, pale green, the 

 woody tissue thin and porous, the pith large, the trunk with a large central 

 cavity; leaves borne at the top of the trunk, 20 to 60 cm. wide, deeply 

 lobed, the lobes pinnately lobed, glaucous beneath ; flowers yellow, the stami- 

 nate in slender panicles 10 to 30 cm. long, fragrant, the corolla 2 to 3 cm. long ; 

 pistillate flowers solitary or in 2 or 3-flowered cymes, the petals linear-lanceo- 

 late, 2 to 2.5 cm. long ; fruit oblong or obvoid, 5 to 10 .cm. long or often much 

 larger, pointed, yellow or orange, with thick skin, the flesh firm, sweet and in- 

 sipid ; seeds numerous, black, rough. 



Known generally in Spanish-speaking countries as " papaya,"^ which Is 

 believed to be a corruption of the Carib " ababai ;" the English names " papaw " 

 or " pawpaw " ^ are used, also " tree-melon," but " papaya " is the preferable 

 name. The following additional names are reported. " Chick put," " put " 

 (Yucatan, Maya ; the former a wild form) ; " papaya de los pdjaros " (Yucatan, 

 a wild form); " papayero " (the plant); "melon zapote " (various parts 

 of Mexico; sometimes corrupted into " mel6n chapote"); " man6n " (Argen- 

 tina); "papaya months" (a wild form); " f ruta bomba " (Cuba); 

 " dzoosadzahuidium " (Oaxaca, Mixtec, Reko) ; " lechosa " (Porto Rico). It 

 Is remarkable that no Nahuatl name is known for the plant. 



The papaya is one of the best-known of tropical American fruits. The 

 fruits vary greatly in shape, size, and quality ; they sometimes attain a 

 length of 50 cm. and a weight of 20 pounds. They resemble some forms of 

 muskmelons, especially on the inside. The flesh is 2 to 5 cm. thick and 

 orange-yellow or deep orange. The friiit is eaten like a muskmelon or sliced 

 and served with sugar and cream, made into salads, or candied; made into 



1 This is the name for the fruit ; that of the plant is " papayo." 



2 Not to be confused with the " pawpaw " of the Southern United States, 

 which is Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal, a plant of the family Annonaceae. 



