Papaya

The **papaya**  or  (frae Carib via Spanyie), **papaw,** or **pawpaw** is the fruit o the plant ***Carica papaya***, the sole species in the genus *[[Carica]]* o the plant faimily Caricaceae. It is native tae the tropics o the Americaes, mibbe frae soothren Mexico an neibourin Central Americae. It wis first cultivatit in Mexico several centuries afore the emergence o the Mesoamerican classical ceevilizations.

The papaya is a lairge, tree-lik plant, wi a single stem grawin frae  taw, wi spirally arranged leafs confined tae the tap o the trunk. The laicher trunk is conspicuously scarred whaur leafs an fruit wis borne. The leafs is lairge,  in diameter, deeply palmately lobed, wi seiven lobes. Unuisually for sic lairge plants, the trees is dioecious. The tree is uisually unbranched, unless lopped. The flouers is seimilar in shape tae the flouers o the *[[Plumeria]]*, but is a fair feck smawer an wax-lik. Thay appear on the axils o the leafs, maturin intae lairge fruit -  lang an  in diameter. The fruit is ripe whan it feels saft (sae saft as a ripe avocado or a bit safter) an its skin haes attained an amber tae orange hue.

*Carica papaya* wis the first transgenic fruit tree tae hae its genome deciphered.

## Common names
*Carica papaya* plants an thair fruits is kent bi different names aroond the Inglish-speakin warld:
* North Americae an Belize: papayas
* Unitit Kinrick: The fruit is uisually cried papaya but is forby kent as papaw or pawpaw 
* Africae: pawpaw or papaw 

## Cultivation

Oreeginally frae soothren Mexico (parteecularly Chiapas an Veracruz), Central Americae, an northren Sooth Americae, the papaya is nou cultivatit in maist tropical kintras.  In cultivation, it graws rapidly, fruitin athin three year.  It is, housomever, heichly frost-sensitive, limitin its production tae tropical lands.

### Pests an diseases

Papayas is susceptible tae the papaya ringspot virus (PRV), whilk causes prematur moltin an malformation o the leafs. In the 1990s, the virus threatened tae wipe oot Hawaii's papaya industry completely.

The papaya is an aa susceptible tae the fruit flee, a smaa, wasp-lik insect that lays its eggs in young fruit.

### Cultivars

Twa kins o papayas are commonly grawn.  Ane haes sweet, reid (or orangish) flesh, an the ither haes yellae flesh; in Australie, thay are cried "reid papaya" an "yellae papaw", respectively.  Either kynd, picked green, is cried a "green papaya."

The lairge-fruitit, reid-fleshed 'Maradol', 'Sunrise', an 'Caribbean Reid' papayas aften sauld in US mercats are commonly grawn in Mexico an Belize.

In 2011 Philippine researchers reportit thay bi intergeneric hybridisation atween carica papaya an Vasconcellea quercifolia thay haed developed conventionally bred, nongenetically engineered papaya that are provin resistant tae PRV.

#### Genetically modified cultivars

In response tae the PRV ootbreak in Hawaii, genetically altered papaya wis generated an brocht tae mercat (includin 'SunUp' an 'Rainbow') that hae some papaya ringspot virus (PRV) DNA incorporatit intae the DNA o the plant is resistant tae PRVs. This wis sae successfu that bi 2010, 80% o Hawaiian papaya plants wis genetically modified.

## Uses

Papayas can be uised as a fuid, a cuikin aid an in tradeetional medicine. The stem an bark mey be uised in raip production.

### Meat tenderizin
Baith green papaya fruit an the tree's latex is rich in papain, a protease uised for tenderizin meat an ither proteins. Its ability tae break doun teuch meat feebres wis uised for thoosands o years bi indigenous Americans. It is nou includit as a component in powdered meat tenderizers.

### Nutrients, phytochemicals an culinary practices

Papaya fruit is a soorce o nutrients lik provitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, folate an dietary feebre. Papaya skin, pulp an seeds contain a variety o phytochemicals, includin lycopene an polyphenols. In preliminary research, danielone, a phytoalexin foond in papaya fruit, shawed antifungal activity against *[[Colletotrichum gloesporioides]]*, a pathogenic fungus o papaya.

The ripe fruit o the papaya is uisually eaten raw, withoot skin or seeds. The unripe green fruit can be eaten cuiked, uisually in curries, salads, an stews. Green papaya is uised in Sootheast Asie cuikin, baith raw an cuiked. In Thai cuisine, papaya is uised tae mak Thai salads lik *[[som tam]]* and Thai curries lik *[[kaeng som]]* whan still no fou ripe. In Indonesian cuisine, the unripe green fruits an young leafs are boiled for uise as pairt o *[[lalab]]* salad, while the flouer buds is sautéed an stir-fried wi chillies an green tomataes as Minahasan papaya flouer vegetable dish. Papayas hae a relatively heich amoont o pectin, that can be uised tae mak jellies. The smell o ripe, fresh papaya flesh can strike some fowk as unpleasant.

The black seeds o the papaya are edible an hae a snell, spicy taste. Whiles, thay are groond an uised as a substitute for black pepper.

In some pairts o Asie, the young leafs o the papaya is steamed an etten lik spinach.

In some pairts o the warld, papaya leafs are made intae tea as a treatment for malaria. Antimalarial an antiplasmodial activity haes been notit in some preparations o the plant, but the mechanism is nae unnerstood an no treatment method based on thir results haes been scientifically proven.

### Herbal medicine
Papaya is mercatit in tablet form tae remedy digestive problems.

Papain is an aa applee'd topically in kintras whaur it graws for the treatment o cuts, rashes, stings an burns. Papain ointment is commonly made frae fermented papaya flesh, an is applee'd as a gel-lik paste. Harrison Ford wis treatit for a ruptured disc incurred durin filmin o *[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]* bi papain injections.

## Allergies an side effects

Papaya is frequently uised as a hair conditioner, but shoud be uised in smaa amoonts. Papaya releases a latex fluid whan nae quite ripe, that can cause irritation an provoke allergic reaction in some fowk.

The latex concentration o unripe papayas is speculate tae cause uterine contractions, whilk can lead tae a miscarriage. Papaya seed extracts in muckle doses hae a contraceptive effect on rats an monkeys, but in smaw doses haes nae effect on the unbairn ainimals.

Excessive consumption o papaya can cause carotenemia, the yellaein o soles an palms, that is itherwise hairmless. Housomever, a vera lairge dose wad need tae be consumed; papaya contains aboot 6% o the level o beta carotene foond in carrots (the maist common cause o carotenemia).

## Gallery


File:Carica papaya 004.JPG|Female flouers o a papaya tree
File:Carica papaya1.jpg|Male flouers o a papaya tree
File:Carica papaya leaf 14 07 2012.jpg|Leaf o a papaya tree
Image:MochepapayaLMC.jpg|Papaya, Moche cultur, Larco Museum Collection The Moche eften depicted papayas in thair ceramics.


## See also
* *[[Asimina triloba]]*, pawpaw (o North Americae)
* *[[Chaenomeles speciosa]]*, flouerin quince, which, lik *Carica papaya*, is kent as *mugua* (木瓜) in Cheenese
* Papaya salad
* *[[Pseudocydonia]]*, Cheenese quince, kent as *mugua* (木瓜) in Cheenese

## References

## Freemit airtins

* Fruits of Warm Climates: Papaya and Related Species
* California Rare Fruit Growers: Papaya Fruit Facts 
* Purdue: ''Carica papaya''
* Papaya Nutrition Data
* Treating Livestock with Medicinal Plants: '' "Beneficial or Toxic? Carica papaya" ''