Papaya, (Carica papaya), succulent fruit of a large plant of the family Caricaceae. The papaya fruit is slightly sweet, with an agreeable musky tang, which is more pronounced in some varieties and in some climates than in others. The fruit is commonly spherical to cylindrical in form, is 75 to 500 mm (3 to 20 inches) or even more in length, and sometimes weighs as much as 9 to 11.5 kg (20 to 25.5 pounds). The very juicy flesh is deep yellow or orange to salmon-coloured. It contains a milky juice in which is present a protein-digesting enzyme known as papain, which greatly resembles the animal enzyme pepsin in its digestive action.