Babaco

Taxobox
name = Babaco
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Brassicales
familia = Caricaceae
genus = "Vasconcellea"
species = "V. pentagona"
binomial = "Vasconcellea ×heilbornii"
binomial_authority = (V.M.Badillo) V.M.Badillo

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

Growth

It can grow at high altitudes (over 2,000 m), and is the most cold-tolerant plant in the genus "Vasconcellea". The babaco is classified as a herbaceous shrub like "Carica papaya" (pawpaw or papaya) but unlike papaya it produces only female flowers. The babaco can produce from 30-60 fruits annually. The babaco plant has an average life span of about eight years. The small plant makes a good container specimen and it is better suited than its cousin the papaya which needs constant moisture and high temperatures to survive.

Characteristics

It is a small unbranched or sparsely branched tree reaching 5-8 m tall. The fruit differs from the related papaya ("C. papaya") in being narrower, typically less than 10 cm in diameter. The babaco fruit is seedless and the smooth skin can be eaten and is said to have a tastes of strawberry, papaya, kiwi and pineapple. The fruit is pentagonal in shape, therefore giving it the scientific name of "Carica pentagona". The fruit is not especially acidic but contains papain, a proteolytic enzyme.

Like the papaya, the babaco is grown for its edible fruit and for its fruit juice. Cultivation away from its native range has been successful as far south as New Zealand, and north to Guernsey, Channel Islands.

References

* [http://users.ugent.be/~tdirckx/vasconcella_x%20heilbornii.htm University of Ghent: "Vasconcellea ×heilbornii"]
* [http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/plant/Babaco.htm Babaco Carica Pentagona]
* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?418402 Germplasm Resources Information Network: "Vasconcellea ×heilbornii"]
* [http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/babaco.html California Rare Fruit Growers Babaco fact sheet]