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July 21, 2006 : Carica pubescens
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Keywords: Caricaceae | Carica pubescens Lenne & K. Koch | Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis, Bogotá, Colombia
Andreas from Bogotá (aka Quimbaya@Flickr) shared this image via the BPotD Flickr Group Pool (original image). Apologies to other BPotD contributors , but I use a high percentage of Andreas's photographs because they are from the tropics, and plants from that area are sorely underrepresented on BPotD relative to all of plant diversity. Thanks yet again, Andreas!
Carica pubescens is closely related to papaya (Carica papaya). It grows in the wild at high altitudes (>1000 m) in the Andes from Panama to Bolivia, but is also cultivated as an ornamental and food plant in gardens. Commonly known as mountain papaw, its similar biochemistry to papaya means it can also be used as a meat tenderizer. Purdue University hosts excerpts from two books on tropical fruits, both with sections on Carica pubescens: “South American Fruits Deserving Further Attention” and “Neglected Crops: 1492 from a Different Perspective”.
Its family, the Caricaceae, is distributed in the tropical and subtropical Americas, as well as Africa.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at July 21, 2006 12:00 AM
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Posted by: Bobbie at July 21, 2006 4:40 AM
I am all for the introduction of new fruits to the market, tropical and temperate. I think there would be a large market for these products that could be a boon to the economies of many tropical areas. As transport of the fresh fruit is often problematic, producers might consider frozen pulp and juices. I have been looking for frozen passion fruit pulp—to make passion fruit lemonade, which is a favourite in my house—since I moved to Vancouver.
Posted by: Eric La Fountaine at July 21, 2006 10:12 AM
Some southern (USA) gardeners recommend papayas as an ornamental foliage plant - and their foliage really is quite beautiful (and statuesque).
In the Gulf Coast area, we can often get fruit from papayas planted in-ground. Many people keep them in pots and move them indoors in cooler weather, but the size of the plant after a few years can make this a problem.
Regards - Nancy
Posted by: nancy at July 23, 2006 3:29 PM
In response to an email I've received, pubescens refers to the underside of the leaves, which are quite hairy - see Leaf Surfaces on Wayne Armstrong's site (section 9).
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at July 24, 2006 12:58 PM
While I enjoy variety and certainly support sustainable agriculture in third world countries, I would like to remind readers that there are costs to this kind of expansion. Think about the environmental cost of the shipping. But writing as a member of a farm family (apples), I'd like people to think about our local agricultural enterprises. Since the advent of southern hemisphere apples (and other exotic fruits)the US apple market has declined considerably. The end result in the Northeast is fewer farms and more houses.
Posted by: Deb Lievens at July 27, 2006 10:35 AM
Thanks Deb, your voice is very welcome on here.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at July 27, 2006 12:08 PM
just to mencion; the photo of mauntain papaw is up-side-down
Posted by: jill at February 21, 2007 4:36 AM
jill, I don't think so - otherwise the light from the sun would be shining from the ground. Also, the leaves would be upside down (reaching toward the ground).
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin at February 21, 2007 5:41 AM
It's upside down. The ripen from the bottom up; the bottom most fruit will be yellow ;-).
Posted by: Jeff at October 1, 2007 2:13 PM
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
I'd love to see more South American fruits in the market. Sometimes, here in Texas, we can find Mamey (Pouteria sapota) which is mentioned in the "South American Fruits Deserving Further Attention" link. It is so delicious, esp. whipped up in a milkshake. Thanks for posting it!