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Papaya
Papaya botanical plate
Field guide plate · click to zoom

Papaya

Carica papaya
In the United States: Introduced

Honeybees primarily visit male flowers for pollen, while female flowers provide limited nectar of poor nutritional quality, making papaya a minor forage source overall. It blooms continuously in tropical climates, offering sporadic but year-round access where grown. As a dioecious species, plantings require both male and female plants for fruit set, though bees contribute little to effective pollination which often relies on wind or hand methods.

Nectarlow
Pollenlow
Bloom (US) January–December
Duration~12 months
TypePerennial
Sunfull
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