ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of African breadfruit, African boxwood, okwa, muzinda, and ukwa. Seeds are removed from the pulp of African breadfruit by macerating with water, and then eaten cooked, or ground into a meal or flour, or used in soups. Reported to be laxative, tonic, and vermifuge, African breadfruit is a folk remedy for cough, fever, leprosy, neck ailments, tooth extraction, roundworms, and swelling. Reported from the African Center of Diversity, African breadfruit, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate drought, low pH, and waterlogging. Ranging from Subtropical Moist through Tropical Dry to Moist Forest Life Zones, African breadfruit is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 13.6 to 24.1 dm, annual temperature of 23.5 to 26.6°C, and pH of 5.0 to 5.3.
