Papaya

Description:

This plant contains fruits and very large pointed leaves. The fruits are pear shaped and commonly eaten and are a little bit sweet. The meat inside of the fruit is orange and there are sort of slimy black seed inside. Sometimes the color may be different. It depends on the type. The fruit starts off as a white flower. Female plants have larger flowers. The plant has a short life, but takes a long time to grow. Some trees can grow up to 30 feet high. Some of the papayas on the trees can be from 12 to 30 oz heavy in Hawaiʻi. Other types can be up to 20 pounds! The most common papaya in Hawaiʻi is the ʻsoil' papaya. There is also a GMO papaya called ʻRainbow Papaya'.

Habitat:

Papaya can grow in mostly any type of soil. However, in Hawaiʻi they even grow in lava rocks. If anywhere else in the world, they are usually in forests that are low in rain. This exact plant was found in a very moist climate.

Notes:

I like to eat these fruits, however they take so long to grow.