papaya

Papayas ripening on the tree in Negril, Jamaica. The papaya is a soft, sweet fruit with a high vitamin C content.

Tropical evergreen tree, native from Florida to South America. Varieties are grown throughout the tropics. The edible fruits are like melons, with orange-coloured flesh and large numbers of blackish seeds in the centre; they can weigh up to 9 kg/20 lb. (Carica papaya, family Caricaceae.)

The fruit juice and the tree sap contain papain, an enzyme used to tenderize meat and help digestion.