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Project Noah Nature School
Artocarpus altilis
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), locally "sukun", is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands. Its name is derived from the texture of the cooked fruit, which has a potato-like flavor, similar to fresh-baked bread. The trees have massive leaves (see the 3rd photo with lens cap for scale). See a large breadfruit tree here http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/718... Ancestors of the Polynesians found the trees growing in the northwest New Guinea area around 3500 years ago. They gave up the rice cultivation they had brought with them from ancient Taiwan, and raised breadfruit wherever they went in the Pacific (except Easter Island and New Zealand, which were too cold). Their ancient eastern Indonesian cousins spread the plant west and north through insular and coastal Southeast Asia. It has, in historical times, also been widely planted in tropical regions elsewhere.
Growing from a discarded or (fruit)bat borne seed in my garden in the equatorial lowland tropics of northern New Guinea.
Read about breadfruit and "Mutiny on the Bounty" here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_t...
Spotted on Apr 22, 2012
Submitted on Apr 27, 2012
3 Comments
Glad to have helped, Viv!
I'm always wary of these huge leaves. Once many years ago my guide stopped me from treading on one laying across the forest trail. Underneath, and unbeknownst to me, was a big fat death adder.
That is so cool! At last I have an ident for a leaf I picked up while walking in the hills on Koh Samui about 6 years ago. I still have it now hanging up here in the 'creative hub' - posh name for glory hole/junk room. Thanks! Incidently, I have'nt seen any breadfruit trees here, plenty of jackfruit and champada.