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Carica papaya
Caricaceae FAMILY

Carica papaya

Carica papaya

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

Older leaves contain the alkaloid carpaine[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Papaya succeeds in tropical and subtropical areas, where it can be found between 32°N and S. It produces best at elevations below 900 metres, though it can also succeed as high as 2,100 metres near the equator[2, 3]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 21 - 30°c, but can tolerate 12 - 44°c[3]. It can be killed by temperatures of -1°c or lower[3]. It prefers a climate with well distributed rainfall and a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 3,000mm[4, 2, 3]. Low temperatures cause smaller fruit size and low quality. Prefers a sunny position in a deep, humus- rich soil[5]. Requires a well-drained, well-aerated soil, trees can die within a few days if the soil becomes waterlogged[4]. Grows best in a position sheltered from strong winds[4]. Plants produce masses of easily damaged feeding roots near the surface and so are best hand weeded when young and given a good organic mulch as they grow[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.5 - 8[3]. A very productive plant, it can start to crop when only 6 months old and can produce fruit all year round[5]. Yields of between 22 - 56 tonnes/ha of fresh fruit are obtained in Hawaii and yields up to 80 tones/ha have been reported. The yields are highest in the second and third year and they then decline rapidly[3]. The productive life of a tree is very short, yields have declined sharply by the time it is four years old[3]. There are many named varieties[6, 4, 5]. Individual plants can bear only male flowers, only female flowers or hermaphrodite flowers. One male plant will be enough to fertilize 6 or more females[5]. Hand pollinated fruits ripen after about 150 - 240 days[3].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a position in indirect light. Germination takes 2 - 6 weeks at 24 - 30°c[4]. Move to a sunny position about 2 weeks after germination. Greenwood cuttings. Grafting. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Carica+papaya>

Pollinators

Bees, Moths, Wind

References

  1. [1]Edible Leaves of the Tropics — Martin. F. W.; Ruberte. R. M. & Meitzner. L. S. · Echo. USA. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9653360-1-8 ↩︎A terse guide, giving reasonable detail on the more common leaf crops and brief information on a wide range of lesser known plants.
  2. [2]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
  6. [6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]Trees Commonly Cultivated in SE Asia — Jensen. M. · FAO Regional Office, Bangkok. · 1999 · ISBN 974-89377-5-5 ↩︎
  8. [8]Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics — Lorenzi. H.; Bacher. L.; Lacerda. M.; Sartori. S. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora LTDA; Brazil. · 2000 · ISBN 85-867174-24-0 ↩︎A superb book, giving information on several hundred fruit species. Each entry has a brief description of the plant and its uses, accompanied by one to many excellent quality photographs of the fruits.
  9. [9]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  10. [10]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  11. [11]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  12. [12]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  13. [13]Medicinal Plants in the South Pacific — WHO Regional Publications, Manilla. · 1998 · ISBN 92-9061-118-9 ↩︎Excellent guide to 102 medicinal herbs of the Pacific Islands, with photographs of each plant and details of their constituents, biological activities and traditional uses. A description of each plant, together with habitat and distribution is given.
  14. [14]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  15. [15]Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. · USDA, Forest Service; Washington. · 1964 ↩︎Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
  16. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎