Hawaii Papaya, Papaya Exotica

Hawaii Papaya is native to southern Mexico and Central America and is now cultivated in many tropical regions.

The fruit sometimes used to be referred to as a "tree melon." In Australia it is called Papaw or Paw Paw.

Today there are two varieties of papaya, Hawaiian and Mexican. The Mexican papaya can weigh as much as ten pounds while the Hawaiian usually weighs about a pound. It is the smaller Hawaiian papaya that is found in most produce aisles.

The papaya was introduced to Hawaii in the early 1800s. Today, Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows papayas commercially.

In the 1990s, two genetically modified varieties of papaya were introduced to Hawaii, making papaya the first genetically modified food to be introduced into the United States food supply.