Plant Identification Learning Module:
Fruits & Nuts

Papaya (Carica papaya)

Papaya trees can grow 10 to 12 feet high. Leaves with deeply lobed margins are on petioles one- to four-foot long. Flowers range from yellow to white. Papayas are a large, round, broadly pear-shaped fruit. They can be six to twenty inches long, four to eight inches wide, and weigh up to twenty pounds. The skin is thin and yellow or yellowish-green at maturity. The flesh is yellow-orange or red and somewhat firm. The center of the fruit is a large cavity lined with soft, black, pea-sized seeds. Papayas, including wild forms, grow throughout warmer areas of Central and South Florida.

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