| Papaya | |
| Carica papaya | |
| a.k.a. Paw Paw |
Green, orange, or yellow fruit, often quite large and weighing several pounds. Fruits tend to be very fleshy, with an inside cavity containing numerous seeds. Flesh is sweet, sometimes mildly acidic, with a texture much like that of a melon.
Description: Very fast growing, perennial herb. While papaya's look much like a
tree, they are not, and do not develop bark characteristic of trees.
The plants typically grow 10-20ft tall, but may bear when only a few
feet high.
Most papaya's bear male and female flowers on separate trees. There
is no way of telling the sex until flowering. Some varieties are bisexual.
Hardiness: They are easily killed by freezing and even frosty temperatures,
although they are subtropical, and can be kept as a container plant
and in many cases, grown as an annual.
small papaya grove, Hawaii
Growing Environment: Trees are not salt tolerant,
and while they enjoy lots of irrigation, they are not flooding tolerant. They do well in full sun.
Propagation: By seeds.
Uses: Generally eaten raw, but also used in juices, chutneys, and various desserts. see also: nutrition facts
Native Range: Native to tropical America. Grown worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas as a commercial crop. Papaya's spread easily and have become naturalized in many areas.