Carica is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caricaceae and order Brassicales. The genus is best known for the papaya (Carica papaya), one of the most widely cultivated tropical fruit crops in the world. Once encompassing approximately 20-25 species, Carica has been substantially narrowed by modern genetic research, which transferred the majority of its former members into the related genera Vasconcellea, Jacaratia, and Jarilla. As currently circumscribed by the Catalogue of Life, only three species remain: C. papaya (the type species), C. aprica, and C. augusti.
Members of the genus are short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small trees, typically reaching 5 to 10 meters in height. They have characteristically thick, usually unbranched trunks topped with a crown of large, palmately lobed leaves. Plants are generally dioecious or monoecious, with unisexual flowers. C. papaya is by far the most economically significant species, cultivated pantropically for its sweet, vitamin-rich fruit and for the enzyme papain, which has industrial and medicinal uses.
Etymology
The genus name Carica is borrowed from the specific epithet of the common fig, Ficus carica, because the leaves or fruits of Carica species bear a resemblance to those of the fig. The term "carica" itself traces back to Caria, an ancient region in southwestern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), where the fig was erroneously believed to have originated.
Distribution
The genus is native to tropical regions of Central and South America. Through widespread cultivation of the papaya, Carica papaya has become naturalized across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, though the wild distribution of the genus as a whole remains confined to the Neotropics.
Cultivation
Carica papaya is grown extensively throughout the tropics and subtropics for its edible fruit, which is consumed fresh, in juices, and in processed foods. The plant is fast-growing and relatively short-lived, producing fruit within its first year under optimal conditions. The species also yields papain, a proteolytic enzyme used as a meat tenderizer and in the pharmaceutical and textile industries. The lesser-known C. aprica and C. augusti are not commercially cultivated.
Taxonomy Notes
The circumscription of Carica has undergone dramatic revision. Historically the genus included some 20-25 species, but molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrated that this broad concept was polyphyletic. As a result, nearly all former Carica species were transferred to the genus Vasconcellea, with a few placed in Jacaratia and Jarilla. Notable reclassifications include the mountain papaya (now Vasconcellea pubescens, formerly C. pubescens) and the babaco (now Vasconcellea × heilbornii, formerly C. pentagona). According to the Catalogue of Life, the genus now contains only three accepted species. However, GBIF continues to list additional accepted names such as Carica porphyrocarpa, indicating some residual taxonomic disagreement across databases.
