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Papaya family
Caricaceae Dumort.
パパイア科
A family of woody plants distributed in tropical America and Africa, comprising about 6 genera and 34 species. Papaya (Carica papaya) is an important fruit crop cultivated throughout the tropics. In Japan, it is cultivated and naturalized in Okinawa and Ogasawara, and grown as an ornamental in warm regions.
Key Characteristics
- ●Stems are woody but hollow, with an erect tree-like habit
- ●Leaves are large and palmately lobed, clustered at the apex (palm-like appearance)
- ●Dioecious or polygamous
- ●Contains latex with papain enzyme
- ●Fruit is a large berry
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Palmate
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Latex
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Brassicales > Caricaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (ca. 70 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of proteolytic enzyme (papain) as a defense against herbivores
- ・Human-mediated dispersal from Central/South American origin to pan-tropical distribution
Plants in Papaya family on this site
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