Vasconcellea is a genus 20 or 21 species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the family Caricaceae

Caricaceae

Caricaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, native to tropical regions of Central and South America and Africa. They are short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small trees growing to 5-10 m tall...

. Most were formerly treated in the genus Carica

Carica

Carica is a genus of Jerry Trainor in the family Caricaceae including one species, Carica papaya, the papaya Carica is a genus of Jerry Trainor in the family Caricaceae including one species, Carica papaya, the papaya Carica is a genus of Jerry Trainor in the family Caricaceae including one...

, but have been split out on genetic evidence. The genus name has also been spelled "Vasconcella".

They are short-lived evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 pachycaul shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s or small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s growing to 5 m tall, native to tropical South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Many have edible fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 similar to papaya

Papaya

The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...

, and are widely cultivated in South America.

Species:

• Vasconcellea candicans (Mito)
• Vasconcellea cauliflora
• Vasconcellea chilensis
• Vasconcellea crassipetala
• Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis (mountain papaya
  Mountain papaya
  The mountain papaya, Vasconcellea pubescens, also known as mountain paw paw, is a species of the genus Vasconcellea, native to the Andes of northwestern South America from Colombia south to central Chile, typically growing at altitudes of m...
  
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• Vasconcellea glandulosa
• Vasconcellea goudotiana
• Vasconcellea horovitziana
• Vasconcellea longiflora
• Vasconcellea microcarpa
• Vasconcellea monoica
• Vasconcellea omnilingua
• Vasconcellea palandensis
• Vasconcellea parviflora
• Vasconcellea pulchra
• Vasconcellea quercifolia
• Vasconcellea sphaerocarpa
• Vasconcellea sprucei
• Vasconcellea stipulata
• Vasconcellea weberbaueri

Hybrids

• Vasconcellea × heilbornii (babaco
  Babaco
  The Babaco , is a hybrid cultivar in the genus Vasconcellea from Ecuador. It is a hybrid between Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis , and Vasconcellea stipulata The Babaco (Vasconcellea × heilbornii; syn. Carica pentagona), is a hybrid cultivar in the genus Vasconcellea from Ecuador. It is a hybrid...
  
  )