''Carica'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Caricaceae The Caricaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, found primarily in tropical regions of Central and South America and Africa. They are usually short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small to medium-sized trees growin ...

including the

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

(''C. 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 In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

pachycaul Pachycauls are plants with a disproportionately thick trunk, for their height, and relatively few branches. With certain pachycaul species, particularly the more succulent varieties, they are commonly referred to as "caudiciformes", a reference t ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s growing to 5–10 m tall, native to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

Central and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

America, but recent genetic evidence has resulted in all of these species other than ''C. papaya'' being reclassified into three other

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

Taxonomy

The genus name comes from the botanical name of the

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

, ''Ficus carica'', because of the species' leaves or fruits resemble that of it. The ''carica'' epithet comes from

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

in southwest

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

(Asia Minor),

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where the fig was mistakenly thought to have come from.

Species

According to

World Flora Online World Flora Online is an Internet-based compendium of the world's plant species. Description The World Flora Online (WFO) is an open-access database, launched in October 2012 as a follow-up project to The Plant List, with the aim of publishi ...

, the genus ''Carica'' lists 21 species. Most of the other species have since been transferred to the genus ''

Vasconcellea ''Vasconcellea'' is a genus with 26 species of flowering plants in the family Caricaceae. Most were formerly treated in the genus ''Carica'', but have been split out on genetic evidence. The genus name has also been incorrectly spelled "''Vasconc ...

'', with a few to the genera ''

Jacaratia ''Jacaratia'' is a genus of shrubs or trees in the family Caricaceae. They are native to South and Central America. Some species of the genus are edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated fro ...

'' and '' Jarilla''. According to the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

, the three remaining species in the genus are: *''

Carica aprica ''Carica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caricaceae including the papaya (''C. papaya'' syn. ''C. peltata'', ''C. posoposa''), a widely cultivated fruit tree native to the American tropics. The genus was formerly treated as incl ...

'' V. M. Badillo *''

Carica augusti ''Carica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caricaceae including the papaya (''C. papaya'' syn. ''C. peltata'', ''C. posoposa''), a widely cultivated fruit tree native to the Neotropical realm, American tropics. The genus was former ...

'' Harms *''

Carica papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

'' L. (

Papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

) The species that have since been transferred to their new genera are as follows: *''Carica baccata'' = ''Vasconcellea microcarpa'' subsp. ''baccata'' *''Carica candamarcensis'' = ''Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis'' (

Mountain papaya The mountain papaya (''Vasconcellea pubescens'') also known as mountain pawpaw, papayuelo, chamburo, or simply "papaya" is a species of the genus ''Vasconcellea'', native to the Andes of northwestern South America from Colombia south to central ...

) *''Carica candicans'' = ''

Vasconcellea candicans ''Vasconcellea candicans'' is a small tree native to the western slopes of the Andes in southern Ecuador and Peru. Description Small dioecious shrub or tree to 8 m high. Leaves ovate or almost rounded, with a slightly cordate base, margin enti ...

'' (Mito) *''Carica caudata'' = ''Jarilla heterophylla'' *''Carica cauliflora'' = ''Vasconcellea cauliflora'' *''Carica cestriflora'' = ''Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis'' *''Carica chilensis'' = ''Vasconcellea chilensis'' *''Carica cnidoscoloides'' = ''

Horovitzia cnidoscoloides ''Horovitzia cnidoscoloides'' is a plant species in the family Caricaceae, endemic to the cloud forest of Sierra de Juarez in Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the politic ...

'' Lorence & R. Torres *''Carica crassipetala'' = ''Vasconcellea crassipetala'' *''Carica cundinamarcensis'' = ''Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis'' *''Carica dodecaphylla'' = ''Jacaratia spinosa'' *''Carica glandulosa'' = ''Vasconcellea glandulosa'' *''Carica goudotiana'' = ''Vasconcellea goudotiana'' *''Carica heterophylla'' = ''Vasconcellea microcarpa'' subsp. ''heterophylla'' *''Carica horovitziana'' = ''

Vasconcellea horovitziana ''Vasconcellea horovitziana'' is a species of plant in the family Caricaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was formerly placed in genus ''Car ...

'' *''Carica longiflora'' = ''Vasconcellea longiflora'' *''Carica mexicana'' = ''Jacaratia mexicana'' *''Carica microcarpa'' = ''Vasconcellea microcarpa'' *''Carica monoica'' = ''Vasconcellea monoica'' *''Carica nana'' = ''Jarilla nana'' *''Carica omnilingua'' = ''

Vasconcellea omnilingua ''Vasconcellea omnilingua'' is a species of plant in the family Caricaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was previously placed in genus ''Car ...

'' *''Carica palandensis'' = '' Vasconcellea palandensis'' *''Carica parviflora'' = ''Vasconcellea parviflora'' *''Carica pentagona'' = ''Vasconcellea × heilbornii'' (

Babaco The babaco (''Vasconcellea'' × ''heilbornii''; syn. ''Carica pentagona''), is a hybrid cultivar in the genus '' Vasconcellea'' from Ecuador. It is a hybrid between '' Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis'' (syn. ''Carica pubescens'', "mountain papaya ...

) *''Carica pubescens'' = ''Vasconcellea pubescens'' (

or Chilean Carica) *''Carica pulchra'' = '' Vasconcellea pulchra'' *''Carica quercifolia'' = '' Vasconcellea quercifolia'' *''Carica sphaerocarpa'' = ''Vasconcellea sphaerocarpa'' *''Carica spinosa'' = ''Jacaratia spinosa'' *''Carica sprucei'' = '' Vasconcellea sprucei'' *''Carica stipulata'' = ''Vasconcellea stipulata'' *''Carica weberbaueri'' = ''Vasconcellea weberbaueri''

Notes

References

Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Carica''Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Carica'' species list and synonymy
*Aradhya, M. K. et al. (1999). A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Carica L. (Caricaceae) based on restriction fragment length variation in a cpDNA intergenic spacer region. ''Genet. Resources Crop Evol''. 46: 579–586. *Badillo, V. M. (2000). Carica L. vs. Vasconcella St. Hil. (Caricaceae) con la rehabilitacion de este ultimo. ''Ernstia'' 10: 74–79. *Van Droogenbroeck, B. et al. (2002). AFLP analysis of genetic relationships among papaya and its wild relatives (Caricaceae) from Ecuador. ''Theoret. Appl. Genet''. 105: 289–297.

External links

IUCN Red List entry
* {{Authority control Caricaceae Brassicales genera