Editing Papaya (section)

== Description ==
The papaya is a small, sparsely branched [[tree]], usually with a single [[Plant stem|stem]] growing from {{convert|5|to|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, with [[Spiral|spirally]] arranged [[leaves]] confined to the top of the [[trunk (botany)|trunk]]. The lower trunk is conspicuously [[scar]]red where leaves and fruit were borne. The leaves are large, {{convert|50|-|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter, deeply [[Glossary of leaf shapes|palmate]]ly lobed, with seven lobes. All plant parts contain [[latex]] in articulated [[Laticifer|laticifers]].<ref name=Heywood/>
{{gallery|mode=packed
|Plàntula de papaia.jpg|Seedlings
|Octastichous Phyllotaxy of Papaya leaves.jpg|Coiled [[phyllotaxy]] of papaya leaves
|Carica papaya leaf 14 07 2012.jpg|Leaf
}}

=== Flowers ===
Papayas are [[dioecious]]. The [[flower]]s are five-parted and highly dimorphic; the male flowers have the stamens fused to the petals. There are two different types of papaya flowers. The female flowers have a superior ovary and five contorted petals loosely connected at the base.<ref name="RonseDeCraene">{{Cite book |last = Ronse De Craene |first = L.P. |date = 2010 |title = Floral diagrams: an aid to understanding flower morphology and evolution |publisher = Cambridge University Press |location = Cambridge |isbn = 978-0-521-49346-8 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=24p-LgWPA50C }}</ref>{{rp|235}}

Male and female flowers are borne in the leaf axils; the male flowers are in multiflowered [[Glossary of botanical terms#Dichasium|dichasia]], and the female ones are in few-flowered dichasia.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} The pollen grains are elongated and approximately 35 microns in length.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} The flowers are sweet-scented, open at night, and are wind- or insect-pollinated.<ref name=Heywood/><ref name="WIFSS" /><ref name="FruitsAndNuts"/>
{{gallery|mode=packed
|File:Carica papaya flower and bud.jpg|Papaya flower
|Carica papaya at Kadavoor.jpg|Buds
|Carica papaya 004.JPG|Female flowers
|Papaya flowers @ Kanjirappally.jpg|Male flowers
|Carica papaya1.jpg|Close-up of male flowers
|Pollens of Carica papaya .jpg|Pollen grains
}}

=== Fruit ===
The fruit is a large [[Berry (botany)|berry]] about {{convert|15|-|45|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and {{convert|10|-|30|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} in diameter.<ref name=Heywood>{{cite book |first1=V.H. |last1=Heywood |first2=R.K. |last2=Brummitt |first3=A. |last3=Culham |first4=O. |last4=Seberg |year=2007 |title=Flowering plant families of the world |publisher=Firefly Books |isbn=9781554072064 }}</ref>{{rp|88}} It is [[Ripening|ripe]] when it feels soft (as soft as a ripe [[avocado]] or softer) and its skin has attained an amber to orange hue. Along the walls of the large central cavity are attached numerous black seeds.<ref>{{Cite web|title=papaya {{!}} Description, Cultivation, Uses, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/papaya|access-date=2020-07-28|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Fruit of papaya.jpg|Unripe fruit
|Papaya tree DRC.jpg|Mature tree with unripe fruit in [[Kinshasa]]
|Carica papaya 005.JPG|Ripe fruit
|Papaya.jpg|Papayas with yellow flesh
|Papaya - longitudinal section.jpg|Longitudinal section of fruit showing orange flesh and numerous black seeds
|Papaya seeds.jpg|Papaya seeds
}}

{{Infobox genome
| image = 
| caption =
| taxId =  513
| ploidy = diploid
| chromosomes = 36
| size = 372 million bp
| year =  2014
| organelle = 
| organelle-size =
| organelle-year =
}}

=== Chemistry ===
Papaya skin, pulp, and seeds contain a variety of [[phytochemical]]s, including [[carotenoid]]s and [[polyphenol]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rivera-Pastrana |first1=D.M. |last2=Yahia |first2=E.M. |last3=González-Aguilar |first3= G.A. |year=2010 |title=Phenolic and carotenoid profiles of papaya fruit (''Carica papaya'' L.) and their contents under low-temperature storage |journal=J Sci Food Agric |volume=90 |issue=14 |pages=2358–65 |doi=10.1002/jsfa.4092 |pmid=20632382|bibcode=2010JSFA...90.2358R }}</ref> as well as [[benzyl isothiocyanate]]s and benzyl glucosinates, with skin and pulp levels that increase during ripening.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rossetto |first1=M.R. |last2=Oliveira do Nascimento |first2=J.R. |last3=Purgatto |first3=E. |last4=Fabi |first4=J.P. |last5=Lajolo |first5=F.M. |last6=Cordenunsi |first6=B.R. |year=2008 |title=Benzylglucosinolate, benzyl isothiocyanate, and myrosinase activity in papaya fruit during development and ripening |journal=J Agric Food Chem |volume=56 |issue=20 |pages=9592–9 |doi=10.1021/jf801934x |pmid=18826320|bibcode=2008JAFC...56.9592R }}</ref> The carotenoids, [[lutein]] and [[beta-carotene]], are prominent in the yellow skin, while [[lycopene]] is dominant in the red flesh (table).<ref name="Shen">{{cite journal |last1=Shen |first1=Yan Hong |last2=Yang |first2=Fei Ying |last3=Lu |first3=Bing Guo |last4=Zhao |first4=Wan Wan |last5=Jiang |first5=Tao |last6=Feng |first6=Li |last7=Chen |first7=Xiao Jing |last8=Ming |first8=Ray |date=2019-01-16 |title=Exploring the differential mechanisms of carotenoid biosynthesis in the yellow peel and red flesh of papaya |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=20 |issue=1 |page=49 |doi=10.1186/s12864-018-5388-0 |issn=1471-2164 |pmc=6335806 |pmid=30651061 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Papaya seeds also contain the [[cyanogenic]] substance [[prunasin]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Seigler |first1=D.S. |last2=Pauli |first2=G.F. |last3=Nahrstedt  |first3=A. |last4=Leen |first4=R. |year=2002 |title=Cyanogenic allosides and glucosides from Passiflora edulis and Carica papaya |journal=Phytochemistry |volume=60 |issue=8 |pages=873–82 |doi=10.1016/s0031-9422(02)00170-x |pmid=12150815|bibcode=2002PChem..60..873S }}</ref> The green fruit contains [[papain]],<ref name="morton"/> a [[cysteine protease]] enzyme used to [[tenderize]] meat (see [[#Uses-papain|below]]).