In Australia, paw paw, papaw and papaya all refer to Carica papaya. Some growers use paw paw for the big yellow-fleshed varieties and papaya for the smaller red ones, but that split is a trade habit, not a botanical rule. The American pawpaw is a completely different tree.
Walk down a chemist aisle and you'll see the same fruit spelled three ways on three tubes. It isn't sloppiness. It's a naming muddle Australia inherited and never tidied up.
One fruit, three spellings
Papaya is the international standard name for Carica papaya, and it's what you'll see in ingredient lists, because ingredient lists use botanical names.
Paw paw and papaw are the Australian vernacular. Both are correct here, both refer to the same species, and the choice between them is basically regional and generational. Older Australian labels lean towards papaw. Newer ones lean towards paw paw.
The yellow and red thing
Here's where the trade adds a distinction that botany doesn't.
Some Australian growers and greengrocers use paw paw for the large, yellow-fleshed fruit and papaya for the smaller, sweeter, red-fleshed one. They're different cultivars of the same species, they taste noticeably different, and the shorthand is genuinely useful in a produce aisle.
It just isn't a rule. Two shops can use the words in opposite directions and neither is wrong.
The impostor
The North American pawpaw is Asimina triloba. Different genus, different family, grows in temperate woodland rather than the tropics, tastes something like custard and banana.
It has nothing to do with Australian paw paw and it is not in any Australian skincare product. If you've read something confusing online about pawpaw, this is usually why — half the internet is talking about a different plant.
What this means when you're reading a label
Three practical rules:
- Trust the ingredients list, not the front of the tube. If it says Carica papaya, it's the fruit you think it is, whichever way the marketing spells it.
- Fermented paw paw and papaya seed oil are different inputs from the same plant. One is the fermented fruit, one is oil pressed from the seeds.
- A product named "paw paw" isn't necessarily mostly paw paw. Ingredients are ordered by quantity, so where Carica papaya sits in the list tells you more than the name does.
OGA's balms list fermented paw paw and papaya seed oil, in that order, because that's the order they're in.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between paw paw and papaya? In Australia, nothing botanical — both refer to Carica papaya. Some growers use paw paw for large yellow-fleshed varieties and papaya for smaller red-fleshed ones, but that is a trade convention rather than a rule.
Is papaw the same as paw paw? Yes. Both are Australian spellings for the same fruit. Papaw is the older form and still appears on heritage labels.
Is the American pawpaw the same fruit? No. Asimina triloba is a temperate North American tree from a different family. It is unrelated to Carica papaya and is not used in Australian paw paw products.
Which spelling should I look for when buying? None of them, on their own. Check the ingredients list for Carica papaya and see how high up it sits.
OGA Paw Paw Balm is a 25g moisturising skin balm made in Australia with fermented paw paw, papaya seed oil and vitamin E. It is a cosmetic product and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any condition.
