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Papaya (Carica)

Description

Carica is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caricaceae including C. papaya, the papaya (syn. C. peltata, C. posoposa), a widely cultivated fruit tree native to the American tropics. The genus was formerly treated as including about 20-25 species of short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small trees growing to 5–10 m tall, native to tropical Central and South America, but recent genetic evidence has resulted in all of these species other than C. papaya being reclassified into three other genera.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum: Magnoliophyta

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Violales

            • Family: Caricaceae

              • Genus: Carica