Botanical atlas

Forest Papaya

Cylicomorpha parviflora

Cylicomorpha parviflora is one of only two species in its genus, a shy, soft wooded tree that shelters in the misty highland forests of East Africa, far from the sunny orchards where its cousin the papaya is grown. Unlike Carica papaya, it has not made its way into the wider world's spice cabinets or apothecary shelves, and no well documented body of traditional medicinal use has come down to us for this particular tree. What we do know comes mostly from botanists and foresters who have recorded it as a striking, little studied member of the papaya family, valued more for its place in the forest canopy than for any harvest. Where local communities near its native range may hold their own knowledge of the tree, that knowledge has not been reliably recorded in the literature available to us, so we choose honesty over invention here.

In tradition.

Cylicomorpha parviflora is one of only two species in its genus, a shy, soft wooded tree that shelters in the misty highland forests of East Africa, far from the sunny orchards where its cousin the papaya is grown. Unlike Carica papaya, it has not made its way into the wider world's spice cabinets or apothecary shelves, and no well documented body of traditional medicinal use has come down to us for this particular tree. What we do know comes mostly from botanists and foresters who have recorded it as a striking, little studied member of the papaya family, valued more for its place in the forest canopy than for any harvest. Where local communities near its native range may hold their own knowledge of the tree, that knowledge has not been reliably recorded in the literature available to us, so we choose honesty over invention here.

Safety.

Forest papaya has no established tradition of eating or internal use, and related papaya-family plants contain latex that can irritate skin, so unripe fruit or seeds should be avoided, especially during pregnancy.