Breadfruit and breadnut
Family Moraceae
Artocarpus altilis (= Artocarpus communis,= Artocarpus incisa), the breadfruit (A. altilis 1), is a monoecious tree, up to 20 m high, with sticky latex in all parts. The large lobed leaves are spirally arranged, thick and leathery, dark green and shiny above, pale green below. The flowers are borne in axillary inflorescences; the male ones drooping and with minute flowers, the female ones upright with numerous flowers embedded in a receptacle. The yellowish-green fruit (A. altilis 2) is a globose syncarp formed from the whole inflorescence, 10-25 cm across, with a reticulate marking on the rind. Usually the fruit is seedless, with a large central core surrounded by numerous abortive flowers, which form a moist edible pulp when ripe. Seeded forms do occur.
Distribution
The breadfruit is a native of Polynesia, where it is cultivated since ancient times. Travellers from the 18th century reported of trees bearing fruits that could be eaten as bread. In the West Indies planters hoped that this ‘breadfruit’ could provide a staple diet for their slaves and petitioned the King to mount an expedition for its collection. The British Government chartered a ship, called the Bounty, and William Bligh, who had been on Tahiti with Captain Cook before, was put in command. In October 1788 the Bounty reached Tahiti and left in April 1789 with about 1000 breadfruit plants for the West Indies. It was on this trip that the famous mutiny took place, and Bligh and 18 men were put at sea on a small open boat. After 6 weeks they managed to reach the Indonesian island of Timor. Eventually Bligh returned in England in March 1790 and sailed to Tahiti again in 1792. This time he was more successful and succeeded in bringing breadfruit plants to St. Vincent and Jamaica. The original tree planted by Bligh in St. Vincent in 1793 is still in the Botanical Gardens of the island. The breadfruit is now widely distributed throughout the tropics.
Use
The seedless breadfruit is an important staple food in Polynesia, and is used in other parts of the tropics as a vegetable as well. It may be eaten boiled, baked, roasted or fried. From the seeded forms, known as breadnut, the seeds are eaten after boiling or roasting. The leaves are fed to livestock.