| Binomial |
Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg
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| Family |
Moraceae
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| Tamil Name |
Eera Pala (ஈரப்பலா)
|
| Tree |
Evergreen, rich in milky gummy latex, monoecious.
|
| Flowers |
The tree bears a multitude of tiny flowers, the male densely set on a drooping, cylindrical or club-shaped spike, yellowish at first and becoming brown. The female flowers are massed in a somewhat rounded or elliptic, green, prickly head.
|
| Fruits |
The compound, false fruit (rounded or pear-shaped) develops from the swollen perianth, and originates from numerous female flowers visible on the skin of the fruit as hexagon-like disks. When unripe the fruit is hard and the interior is white, starchy and somewhat fibrous. When fully ripe, the fruit is somewhat soft, the interior is cream coloured or yellow and pasty, also sweetly fragrant. |
| Pollinators |
Fruits are produced without pollination
|
| Country of Origin |
New Guinea and the Indo-Malay region
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| About the tree |
This tree gets its name, ‘Breadfruit’ as the flour obtained from its dried and powdered leaves can be used to make bread. Being rich in starch, it is used as a staple food in many tropical countries. The inner bark fibres are used to make ropes. Latex is massaged into the skin to treat broken bones, bruises, sprains, etc and also in treating ear infections. A tea made from the yellowing leaf is said to reduce high blood pressure and thought to control diabetes. The dried, hard flowers can be burned as a mosquito repellent.
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