ABSTRACT
The tropical breadfruit tree grows as tall as 26 m (85 ft.). The leaves are evergreen or deciduous, depending on climate. The species is thought to be native in the area extending from New Guinea through the Indo-Malayan Archipelago to Western Micronesia. Breadfruit is believed to have been widely spread in the Pacic area by migrating Polynesians and is a staple or subsistence crop in the Pacic islands, where cultivation has been carried out for thousands of years. In tropical areas of the world, breadfruit takes the place of such temperate region starchy staples as potatoes and cereals. Indeed, a traditional saying is that a good-sized breadfruit tree can produce enough food to sustain a family for a year. Europeans may not have seen the breadfruit until 1595. More recently, breadfruit became popular in the Caribbean region. Fruits are borne singly or in clusters of two or three at the branch tips. Good trees produce about 100 fruits annually. The fruit is oblong, cylindrical, rounded, or pear shaped, 9 to 45 cm (3½–18 in.) long, and 5 to 30 cm (2-12 in.) in diameter. The thin rind is patterned with irregular, four-to six-sided segments, which are either smooth or conical and sometimes bear a short point or spine. The rind in some varieties is rough like sandpaper. Usually, the rind is green when immature, turning yellowish-green, yellow, or yellow-brown when ripe, although one variety is lavender. In ripe fruit, the interior is cream colored or yellow and sweetly fragrant. There are varieties with seeds as well as many seedless varieties. The seeds, when present, are about 2 cm (3/4 in.) long. All parts of the tree and the unripe fruit are rich in milky, gummy latex. This sap has been used as glue. Aside from the food uses noted below, in regions where breadfruit grows, the bark is made into cloth and paper, the leaves are used for roong and for wrapping food, and the wood is made into canoes and furniture.
