Papaya, also known as papaw, pawpaw, or tree melon, was introduced to China from India during the Sui and Tang dynasties. It is native to tropical Asia and is widely cultivated in tropical and humid areas. It is now widely produced in China, India, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific Islands, Bangladesh, and Brazil.
Medicinal Name: Papaya
Harvest and Storage: Papaya is a tree species that flowers from old stems. The main branches, main trunks, and even the roots that touch the ground can bear fruit. Normally, it starts to bear fruit at the age of 6-8 years, and the peak fruiting period is around 30 years for healthy mother trees. Fruits are harvested when ripe, with early-maturing varieties harvested in May-June and late-maturing varieties in August-September. Unripe fruits can also be harvested. Mostly used fresh.
Morphology: Papaya is an evergreen tree, 8-15m tall, with latex in all parts. It has adventitious and plank-like roots, alternate leaves that spiral around the stem; leaf stalks are 1-3cm long; stipules are flame-shaped and fall off early; leaf blades are thick, leathery, inverted ovate or inverted obovate, 7-25cm long, 3-12cm wide, with a blunt and short tapering apex, a slightly wedge-shaped and downwardly extended base, entire margins, or 3-lobed (on sprouting branches or young branches), dark green and glossy on the upper surface, light green and slightly rough on the lower surface. The flowers are unisexual, with separate male and female plants; male flowers are borne in terminal or axillary inflorescences, cylindrical, 5-8cm long, 2.5cm in diameter, initially hidden within the stipules; male flower calyx is 2-lobed, with blunt lobes, and has 1 stamen; female inflorescences are cylindrical or elongated, borne in spherical flower bracts on the trunk or main branches; female flower calyx is tubular, hexagonal, with a lateral style. The aggregate fruit is elongated, oval or inverted ovate, 25-60cm long when ripe, 25-50cm wide, with larger ones weighing up to 20kg. It is yellow-green in color and has hexagonal wart-like protrusions on the surface. It contains many yellow fleshy calyxes. The fruit stalk is thick and stout, 5-10cm long; the seed is elongated, about 3cm long and 1.5-2cm wide. It flowers in spring and summer, and fruits in summer and autumn.
Ecological Environment: Papaya grows in tropical regions.
Resource Distribution: Cultivated in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, and other regions.
Papaya is mainly used to generate body fluids and relieve irritability, and to sober up and invigorate the spleen.
① "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Quenches thirst, relieves irritability, invigorates qi."
② "Guangxi Medicinal Plant Directory": "Generates body fluids, quenches thirst, aids digestion."
