Phred schreef
Bloke I know who spent some years breeding the things always claimed
they had no lignified tissue, therefore not "woody". (And after
cutting down many pawpaw trees with a blunt cane knife over the years,
I can confirm they are not in the least woody -- at least as far as
people here in Oz understand the term. YMMV.)

*****
Technically Carica has secondary xylem that lacks fibers in its make-up.
Composed mostly of parenchyma, which has no secondary walls (primary wall
only). Only the vessels are lignified.
PvR