Pixel Wild
Papaya
Papaya
Carica papaya
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
3-5 yrs
Size
Medium
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Tropical rainforest
Range
Central America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

A fast-growing tropical plant that can fruit within a year of planting, producing large orange-fleshed melons packed with the enzyme papain — the same compound used commercially to tenderize meat.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Brassicales
Family
Caricaceae
Genus
Carica
Species
Carica papaya