Mountain papaya

The mountain papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens) also known as mountain pawpaw, papayuelo, chamburo, or simply "papaya" is a species of the genus Vasconcellea, native to the Andes of northwestern South America from Colombia south to central Chile, typically growing at altitudes of 1,500–3,000 metres (4,900–9,800 ft).

This article is about the mountain papaya or mountain paw paw (Vasconcellea pubescens) of the Andes. For the papaya (Carica papaya) widely cultivated throughout the tropics, see Carica papaya. For the Eastern North American tree (and fruit) called "pawpaw", see Asimina triloba.

Mountain papaya
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Caricaceae
Genus: Vasconcellea
Species:
V. pubescens
Binomial name
Vasconcellea pubescens
Synonyms
  • Carica pubescens Lenné & K.Koch
  • Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis Badillo[1]
  • Carica candamarcensis Hook.f.
  • Carica cestriflora Solms
  • Carica chiriquensis Woodson
  • Carica cundinamarcensis Linden
  • Carica pubescens Solms
  • Papaya cundinamarcencis Kuntze
  • Papaya pubescens (A. DC.) Kuntze
  • Vasconcellea cestriflora A. DC.

It has also been known as Carica pubescens.

Description

Vasconcellea pubescens is an evergreen pachycaul shrub or small tree growing to 10 metres (33 ft) tall.

A ripe mountain papaya, whole and in cross section (Rift Valley Province, Kenya, September 2011).

The fruit is 6–15 cm long and 3–8 cm broad, with five broad longitudinal ribs from base to apex; it is green, maturing yellow to orange. The fruit pulp is edible, similar to papaya, and is usually cooked as a vegetable. It is also eaten raw.

Leaves of Vasconcellea pubescens

Cultivation

Vasconcellea pubescens is one of the parents of the 'Babaco' papaya, a hybrid cultivar widely grown for fruit production in South America, and in subtropical portions of North America.

References
  1. "Vasconcellea pubescens A.DC. — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.