a tree (carica papaya) of tropical america, belonging to the order passifloreae. it has a soft, spongy stem, eighteen or twenty feet high, crowned with a tuft of large, long-stalked, palmately lobed leaves. the milky juice of the plant is said to have the property of making meat tender. also, its dull orange-colored, melon-shaped fruit, which is eaten both raw and cooked or pickled.-a tree of the genus asimina (a. triloba), growing in the western and southern parts of the united states, and producing a sweet edible fruit; also, the fruit itself.