Papita / Papaya
Carica papaya
Also known as Papas, Papaw Tree
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Carica papaya
- Genus
- Carica
- Family
- Caricaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Cultivated in Tropics and Sub tropics
- Found in India
- Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Recorded for Papita.
Local Names
- Hindi
- पपीता Papita,पपीता papita
- Nepali
- मेवा
- Bengali
- Papeya, পেঁপে, পেপে
- Tamil
- பப்பாளி pappALi, பப்பாளி, பறங்கிப்பழம்
- Telugu
- బొప్పాయి, మదన ఆనపకాయ
- Kannada
- ಪಪ್ಪಾಯಿ
- Malayalam
- പപ്പായ/ഓമയ്ക്ക/കപ്ലങ്ങ, പപ്പായ, കപ്പളങ്ങ
- Marathi
- पपयी Pappayi, पोपय Popay, पपई
- Sinhala
- ගස්ලබු, පැපොල්
Papita in India
Papaya is a fast-growing backyard fruit tree found across warm India — पपीता Papita (Hindi), பப்பாளி pappALi (Tamil), బొప్పాయి (Telugu), ಪಪ್ಪಾಯಿ (Kannada), പപ്പായ/ഓമയ്ക്ക/കപ്ലങ്ങ (Malayalam), पपयी Pappayi (Marathi). Although it comes from tropical America, Carica papaya is now grown throughout the country and recorded across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka.
Uses
The ripe orange fruit is eaten fresh and the unripe green fruit is cooked as a vegetable and grated into salads. Green papaya and the leaves feature in many home remedies — attributed traditional uses, not medical advice — and the latex contains the enzyme papain used as a meat tenderiser.
How to Identify Papita
A single soft, hollow stem topped by a crown of very large, deeply lobed, long-stalked leaves — it looks like a tree but is really a giant herb. Male and female flowers are usually on separate plants, and the melon-like fruits cluster on the trunk just below the leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Papaya called in different Indian languages?
- पपीता Papita (Hindi); பப்பாளி pappALi (Tamil); బొప్పాయి (Telugu); ಪಪ್ಪಾಯಿ (Kannada); പപ്പായ/ഓമയ്ക്ക/കപ്ലങ്ങ (Malayalam); पपयी Pappayi (Marathi); Papeya (Bengali).
- Is papaya a tree or a herb?
- Botanically papaya is a large herb, not a true tree — it has a soft, hollow, unbranched stem rather than woody wood, though it is tall and tree-like.
- Why doesn't my papaya plant fruit?
- Papayas are often male or female on separate plants; a male plant won't set fruit, so a female (or bisexual) plant, and warm conditions, are needed for a crop.
Caricaceae
Papaya family
Papita belongs to the Caricaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Caricaceae family →Snap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →Sources: GBIF — Carica papaya (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Carica papaya (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Carica papaya (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)