Can one tell from the outside whether a papaya has seeds?

Question

Some papayas have no or virtually no seeds:

Sometimes it has many seeds

Can one tell from the outside whether a papaya has seeds?

Answer 1

If the fruit was known to come from a parthenocarpic (meaning seedless) plant, then yes.

For example, the distinctive “mountain papaya” fruit from a babaco shrub (Carica pentagona ‘Heilborn’), which related to Papaya, is parthenocarpic. It originates from the Andes, but is now cultivated, for local and international markets, in California and New Zealand.