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Succulent fruit

As papaya is melon-like in consistency, shape, flavour and fragrance, it is also called tree melon

RICH IN VITAMINS Papaya

The large palmatified leaves on long, hollow white petioles crowning un-branched stems of the papaya tree are beautiful. The leaves measure two feet across, divided into eight crowded segments of long pointed some further side divided, deeply lobed, with prominent ribs and margins. They look like designer created patterns. The whorl of leaves forming a palm like rotund terminal top grows in height, getting pushed up after each flowering and fruiting. The trunk is hollow and soft wooded. Papaya is fast growing, fruiting in nine months and short-lived.

Papaya is planted chiefly for their fruits that grow about ten inches long. The fruits are melon-like in consistency, shape, flavour and fragrance - hence called Tree Melon. The seeds too are eaten. Seedless varieties have been developed. The unripe fruits are used in curries, cooked like a pumpkin and taste well when pickled and preserved. The leaves are used to wash clothes instead of soap. The milky latex is a safe vermifuge. Papain made from latex is one of the ingredients of chewing gum. The unripe fruits, when cooked along with tough meat, tenderises it.As papaya does not give much shade, it can be planted in small gardens. Carica papaya Linn (family Caricaceae) though known and grown the world over in all tropical regions is native to South America and the Caribbean.

J. MANGALARAJ JOHNSON

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