Papaya | Carica Papaya | Pawpaw

The papaya (/pəˈpaɪə/ or US /pəˈpɑːjə/) (from Carib via Spanish), papaw, (/pəˈpɔː/) or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, and is one of the 22 accepted species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae.

Papaya is native to Central and northern South America and has become naturalized throughout the Caribbean Islands, Florida and several countries of Africa. Additional crops are grown in India, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and the U.S. state of Hawaii.

The papaya tree like plant, with a single stem growing from 5 to 10 m (16 to 33 ft) tall, with spirally arranged leaves confined to the top of the trunk. The lower trunk is conspicuously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne.

 

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	179 kJ (43 kcal)
Carbohydrates	10.82 g
Sugars	7.82 g
Dietary fiber	1.7 g
Fat	0.26 g
Protein	0.47 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv. beta-carotene lutein zeaxanthin	(6%) 47 μg (3%) 274 μg 89 μg
Thiamine (B1)	(2%) 0.023 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	(2%) 0.027 mg
Niacin (B3)	(2%) 0.357 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	(4%) 0.191 mg
Folate (B9)	(10%) 38 μg
Vitamin C	(75%) 62 mg
Vitamin E	(2%) 0.3 mg
Vitamin K	(2%) 2.6 μg
Minerals
Calcium	(2%) 20 mg
Iron	(2%) 0.25 mg
Magnesium	(6%) 21 mg
Manganese	(2%) 0.04 mg
Phosphorus	(1%) 10 mg
Potassium	(4%) 182 mg
Sodium	(1%) 8 mg
Zinc	(1%) 0.08 mg
Other constituents
Lycopene	1828 µg