Papaya plant It is believed that the papaya, also called the Pawpaw, is native to tropical America, particularly southern Mexico and Central America. Seeds were taken to Panama and the Dominican Republic prior to 1525. The Spaniards carried seeds to the Philippines around 1550. Now the papaya is common in almost all tropical regions of the Old World and the Pacific.

The papaya is an herbaceous plant rather than a tree, growing up to about 15 ft. in height. At the top it sports a tuft of large leaves. The plant grows fast, bearing flowers and fruit down its stem within the first year.

Papayas look like long melons, sometimes weighing up to almost 20 lbs. Their pulp is sweet and highly aromatic, usually yellow or orange in color, with a thin skin. In the center cavity of the fruit are a number of black seeds.

Papayas are popular as a breakfast food in fruit salads or sprinkled with lime juice. They can be made into jams, ices and juice, here in Mexico often mixed with orange juice to lend a tangier flavor, or sprinkled both with lime juice and powdered red chile piquin (similar to cayenne pepper). Their leaves are used to wrap meat and tenderize it during cooking, due to the enzyme, papain, which is present in the plant's latex. Papain is a major ingredient in many commercial meat tenderizers.

Papain aids digestion as well as in the treatment of slipped discs. The seeds and green fruit, rather than the riper fruit, is said to be more beneficial in this sense. Other medicinal uses include the treatment of rheumatism and warts. The fruit, because of it's germicidal properties, is used on infected wounds.