Carica Pentagona Babaco (Mountain Papaya)

Description

The babaco (Vasconcellea heilbornii, synonym: Carica pentagona) or chamburo is a hybrid of the mountain papaya (Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis) and Vasconcellea stipulata. The hybrid is related to the true papaya (Carica papaya). The fruit is grown in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and New Zealand. The trees have a bare straight trunk with a kind of wig of green leaves at the top. Just below this, the fruits grow in bunches on the trunk; The stems of the fruits grow directly on it.
The babaco has a cylindrical shape with a length of 20-30 cm and a diameter of approximately. 12 cm. At the base of the stem, the fruit is blunt in shape and pointed at the end. The skin is green in color and turns yellow as it ripens. The fruit has juicy yellow flesh without seeds. The taste is fresh sweet and sour and can be described as a combination of strawberry and melon. A babaco does not produce any waste, as it can be consumed with the skin on and all.