The classification of papaya has undergone many changes
over the years. The genus Carica was previously classified
under various plant families, including Passifloraceae,
Cucurbitaceae, Bixaceae, and Papayaceae. However it is
presently placed under Caricaceae, a plant family incorporating
35 latex-containing species in four genera, Carica,
Cylicomorpha, Jarilla and Jacaratia (Kumar and Srinivasan
1944). It is widely believed that papaya originated from
the Caribbean coast of Central America, ranging from Argentina
and Chile to southern Mexico (Manshardt 1992)
through natural hybridization between Carica peltata and
another wild species (Purseglove 1968). Carica consists of
22 species and is the only member of the Caricaceae that is
cultivated as a fruit tree while the other three genera are
grown primarily as ornamentals (Burkill 1966). Cylicomorpha
is the only member of the Caricaceae that is indigenous
to Africa, and consists of two species. Jacaratia, found in
tropical America, consists of six species. Jarilla, from
central Mexico consists of only one species. The mountain
papaya (C. candamarcencis Hook. f.), is native to Andean
regions from Venezuela to Chile at altitudes between 1,800-
3,000 m (Morton 1987). The ‘babaco’, or ‘chamburo’ (C.
pentagona Heilborn), is commonly cultivated in mountain
valleys of Ecuador; plants are slender, up to 3 m high, and
pentagonal fruits reach 30 cm in length (Morton 1987).
Compared to the well known tropical papaya, C. papaya,
fruits of the mountain papayas tend to be smaller in size and
less succulent