Carica papaya
Caricaceae
lechosa, papaw, papaya, pawpaw
papaya family
erect; usually unbranched.
drooping proximally, erect or spreading distally;
petiole 35–70 cm, hollow;
blade round in general contour, 20–60 cm diam., shallowly to deeply palmately 5–9-lobed, lobes lanceolate to ovate, margins entire or pinnately divided into lanceolate to ovate lobes.
alternate (borne at branch tips), palmately lobed [simple];
stipules absent;
petiole present;
blade margins entire or lobed.
15–60 cm;
bracts ± rhombic.
usually axillary, paniculate [cymose-paniculate, cymose, or racemose];
bracts present.
present or absent.
usually unisexual, rarely bisexual, staminate and pistillate usually on different plants, 5-merous;
calyces rotate, campanulate, or tubular, 5-toothed.
sessile;
calyx green, short-tubular, ca. 1.5 mm, teeth triangular to linear;
corolla white, 2–3.5 cm, lobes narrowly oblong, ca. 1.3 cm;
stamens yellow.
corolla funnelform [tubular, salverform], tube elongate, 5-lobed, lobes oblong to linear [ovate];
stamens 10, in 2 series, borne at orifice of corolla tube, alternating longer and shorter;
anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits, introrse, distinct or connate basally, connective often projecting beyond anther sacs;
ovary vestigial or absent.
subsessile;
calyx yellow, short-tubular, 5–10 mm, teeth triangular to linear;
petals lanceolate-oblong, white to pale yellow, 3–5 cm;
ovary ellipsoidal to rounded, 2–3 cm.
petals distinct or connate basally, oblong to linear;
ovary (1–)5-carpellate, 1-locular;
placentation parietal;
ovules 100+, anatropous, bitegmic;
styles 0 or 1;
stigmas 5, divided into 2 or more lobes.
berries.
hanging from trunk near summit, green to orange, ellipsoidal to oblong, rounded distally, 8–45 cm.
blackish.
brown to black, ovoid to compressed, smooth or warty;
aril gelatinous;
embryo linear, cotyledons flat, broad.
= 18.
Carica papaya
Caricaceae
Carica papaya is widely cultivated in tropical regions worldwide for its large melonlike fruit, one of the most popular tropical fruits, and occasionally as an ornamental. Papaya fruit is a good source of calcium, and vitamins A and C. Except for the ripe fruit, all parts of the plant possess a milky sap that contains the proteolytic enzymes papain and chymopapain, widely used to tenderize meat. Immature fruit, leaves, and flowers are also used as a cooked vegetable. Papaya also has industrial and pharmaceutical applications, including use in chewing gums, brewing, drugs for digestive ailments, treatment of gangrenous wounds, use in the textile industry, and use in production of soaps and shampoos.
The species is cultivated in extreme southern Texas, where occasional seedlings arise from seeds discarded in waste places or dumps but are never persistent.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Genera 6, species ca. 30 (1 in the flora).
Caricaceae consists mainly of soft-wood trees containing little secondary xylem. Any “wood” present is usually produced from phloem. Economically, the most important plant is Carica papaya, the source of papaya fruit. The fruits of Jarilla Rusby and Jacaratia A. de Candolle are locally grown and eaten in Mexico. Papaya has great variation in the inflorescence, especially in the pistillate flowers, probably as a result of being under extensive cultivation.
Caricaceae may be related to Passifloraceae, or to Cucurbitaceae.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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