Papaya, pawpaw or in Swahili, Mpapai is not actually a tree, rather a herb that can grow up to 8 metres. It is a short lived tree grown in mild tropical climates and performs best in Tanzania under 1500 metres above sea level but will grow to higher altitudes. The plant carries either male flowers of female.
Description: Mpapai grows with a naked trunk with a crown of palmate leaves. The trunk can be as thick as 20 cm. The trunk is principally fibre and not very strong. Bark is pale grey and smooth, bumpy where there are old leaf scars. Leaves are up to 60 cm and deeply palmate with hollow 60 cm stalks. Flowers on the male tree are on drooping stalks and a yellow-cream colour and on the female flowers are fewer and beside leaves on the trunk. Waxy petals and cream.Fragrant. Sometimes a male tree will bear fruit and sometimes both sexes are on the same plant. Fruit take about three months to mature round to that of a rugby ball with a thin, green skin ripening to orange. Sweet yellow to orange - almost red flesh inside with many black seeds. A hollow center.
Uses: Fruit, drink, medicine, meat tenderizing [leaves and fruit] removing spines of sea urchins from feet.
Propagation: The seeds are light, 20 000 per kg with viability three years if stored in dry conditions. Take from fruit, clean and dry. Some say that the white seeds are male - not in my experience. Sow direct into pots 3 -5 seeds and germination is 2 -3 weeks. The plant does not tolerate root disturbance. In a plantation 1 male to 50 female is about best. I was never able to tell if a seedling was male or female.
Generally the plant produces well for up to four years, then needs replacing. In the old days orchards were established to harvest the gum but those chemicals seem now to be made synthetically.
Stephen had a grove of special breed Mpapai with large fruit and almost red flesh. I used to buy fruit from him and give the fruit around our village on the expectation that the seed was returned to me.
Many of those plants grew well in the villages but unless the seed was harvested and cross breeding with inferior plants, it is not very likely that such fruit can be found there now.
Description: Mpapai grows with a naked trunk with a crown of palmate leaves. The trunk can be as thick as 20 cm. The trunk is principally fibre and not very strong. Bark is pale grey and smooth, bumpy where there are old leaf scars. Leaves are up to 60 cm and deeply palmate with hollow 60 cm stalks. Flowers on the male tree are on drooping stalks and a yellow-cream colour and on the female flowers are fewer and beside leaves on the trunk. Waxy petals and cream.Fragrant. Sometimes a male tree will bear fruit and sometimes both sexes are on the same plant. Fruit take about three months to mature round to that of a rugby ball with a thin, green skin ripening to orange. Sweet yellow to orange - almost red flesh inside with many black seeds. A hollow center.
Uses: Fruit, drink, medicine, meat tenderizing [leaves and fruit] removing spines of sea urchins from feet.
Propagation: The seeds are light, 20 000 per kg with viability three years if stored in dry conditions. Take from fruit, clean and dry. Some say that the white seeds are male - not in my experience. Sow direct into pots 3 -5 seeds and germination is 2 -3 weeks. The plant does not tolerate root disturbance. In a plantation 1 male to 50 female is about best. I was never able to tell if a seedling was male or female.
Generally the plant produces well for up to four years, then needs replacing. In the old days orchards were established to harvest the gum but those chemicals seem now to be made synthetically.
Stephen had a grove of special breed Mpapai with large fruit and almost red flesh. I used to buy fruit from him and give the fruit around our village on the expectation that the seed was returned to me.
Many of those plants grew well in the villages but unless the seed was harvested and cross breeding with inferior plants, it is not very likely that such fruit can be found there now.
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