Description
Papaya (Carica papaya)
The papaya is a small, sparsely branched tree, usually with a single stem growing from 5 to 10 m (16 to 33 ft) tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk. The lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne.
The leaves are large, 50–70 cm (20–28 in) in diameter, deeply palmately lobed, with seven lobes.
Papayas are dioecious. The flowers are five-parted and highly dimorphic; the male flowers have the stamens fused to the petals. The female flowers have a superior ovary and five contorted petals loosely connected at the base.
NOTE: All plant parts contain latex in articulated laticifers
