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Papaya — Whole tree
Caricaceae (papaya family)LC · Least concern

Papaya

Carica papaya L.

Also known asPink papayaYellow papaya

Papaya (Carica papaya) is a short-lived, soft-stemmed plant with large lobed leaves and melon-like fruits green outside and orange within; its latex contains the enzyme papain (a meat tenderiser and medicine).

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Oct 9, 2026
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Overview

A plant 3–10 m tall with a spongy, little-branched stem and white milky latex. Leaves are large and deeply lobed on long stalks. Cream-white flowers occur on male, female or bisexual plants; the large berry ripens orange with soft flesh and many black seeds in mucilage.

Ripe fruit is eaten fresh for its sweet aroma, rich in lycopene and vitamin C; unripe fruit is used in soups, salads and stews. The latex contains papain that tenderises meat and aids digestion, and the leaves are used in folk medicine.

Life cycle

From seed to product

Seed

Black seeds in mucilage are sown fresh and sprout in 2–3 weeks.

Young plant

Young plants grow very fast and flower in only 4–8 months.

Flowering

Cream-white flowers grow in leaf axils; plants may be male, female or bisexual.

Fruiting

Fruit swells quickly and ripens in 4–6 months; plants crop continuously for 2–3 years.

Distribution & origin

Share of recorded occurrences by region
  • Central America (native)14%
  • India26%
  • Southeast Asia22%
  • Vietnam14%
  • Latin America · Africa24%

Chemical composition

Relative content in agarwood resin
  • PapainProteolytic, tenderises meat30%
  • LycopeneRed-orange, antioxidant24%
  • β-Carotene · vitamin CProvitamin A, immunity24%
  • Carpaine · othersLeaf alkaloid22%

Uses

  • Ripe fruit fresh, smoothies, salads
  • Unripe fruit in soups, stews, salads
  • Papain as meat tenderiser and digestive aid; leaves in folk use

Properties

Stem
Spongy, white latex
Leaf
Large, deeply lobed
Fruit
Berry, ripening orange

Habitat & conservation

Native to Central America; likes a warm, sunny tropical climate and loose, humus-rich, well-drained soil, grown in home gardens, market gardens and near rivers.

Conservation

Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern). A common tropical crop supplied mainly by farming; some wild relatives in Carica are rarer.

References

  1. 1Plants of the World Online — Carica papaya — Kew Science, 2024
  2. 2IUCN Red List — Carica papaya — IUCN, 2019
  3. 3Papaya: Biology, Cultivation, Production and Uses — CRC Press, 2016
  4. 4Hình ảnh minh hoạ lấy từ Wikimedia Commons, tôn trọng giấy phép ghi kèm — Wikimedia Commons,
  5. 5Nguồn ảnh: Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
  6. 6Nguồn ảnh: Prenn (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
  7. 7Nguồn ảnh: Pancrat (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
  8. 8Nguồn ảnh: JDP90 (Joydeep) (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
  9. 9Nguồn ảnh: Dacnoh (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
  10. 10Nguồn ảnh: H. Zell (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
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