Papaya

Carica papaya (Java, Kates). The Spanish introduced these to the East from Central America, and now they grow everywhere, both wild and cultivated. The flesh, with its orange-pink colour and rather bland sweetness, is certainly very agreeable to eat, though I think one can grow tired of it. The leaves and flowers, however, are more interesting. The male flowers are good for Urap, and the young leaves are better still; Javanese urap daun Kates is well worth trying. Burkill says the flowers, fruit and leaves contain papain, which helps to tenderize meat and has many medicinal properties. He doesn’t mention, however, that the juice of young leaves can be drunk as a prophylactic against malaria if quinine is unavailable. At any rate, that is what we did during the War, though I daresay it was just the unpleasantly bitter taste of the juice that made us think it must be good for us.