papya

The papaya (from Carib via Spanish), is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, an was cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classic cultures. It is sometimes called "tree melon" or "pawpaw," but the North American pawpaw is a different species, in the genus Asimina.