Breadfruit tree

Breadfruit tree – a monecious fruit-tree from family Mulberry, sorts Artokarpus. The homeland of a breadfruit tree are the western islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is considered that initially it grew in New Guinea and only then extended across Oceania.

Breadfruit tree – a plant quite large and fast-growing. Under favorable conditions its height can reach 26 meters, but preferential the tree does not happen higher than 20 meters. Externally the plant can be compared to an oak. Bark at it smooth, gray color. Branches are various – thin long or thick short boughs.

Depending on climatic conditions foliage of a tree happens listopadny or evergreen. The form of trees is also very various. Both pinnatifid trees, and integral meet. Leaves at a plant big and thick. All parts, including crude fruits of a breadfruit tree, contain lacteal juice – latex which to the touch quite sticky.

The breadfruit tree the greenish flowers collected in bisexual large inflorescences blossoms. Men's flowers blossom the first, but are by sight quite ordinary-looking, collected in the extended inflorescences. Female flowers are collected in big inflorescences in the form of a mace. After pollination of female inflorescences, they grow together in one fruit which by outward can be compared to a knobby melon. In process of maturing of fruits of a breadfruit tree, their color changes from green to brownish-yellow.

Fruits at a tree quite big and their weight sometimes exceeds 4 kg, and they have a diameter 30 cm. Green fruits have firm structure, with fibrous starchy pulp and when fruits ripen, they become softer, pulp becomes sweet on taste and gains cream-yellow color.

The breadfruit tree is quite steady against a drought and maintains up to three months without watering, but that the tree bore good fruits, it is regularly desirable to water the soil. The tree and to temperature condition is unpretentious, and perfectly feels at a temperature from +40 to 0 degrees.

In favorable climatic conditions the breadfruit tree fructifies up to 9 months in a year, bearing from 150 to 700 fruits annually, doing only a short break for three months. Life expectancy of a tree makes 60-70 years.

The interesting fact is that the breadfruit tree is pollinated not by insects, but fruit-bats – bats who are called in Latin by Pteropodidae.

History

Europeans learned about a breadfruit tree in the 17th century from the English seafarer William Dampir who told that natives eat it. At the end of the 18th century, after hunger, in Jamaica thought up to part a breadfruit tree as a source of caloric and cheap food for slaves. For this purpose well-known Baunti, however saplings which it brought together sent to Tahiti, West Indies did not reach, and the first breadfruit trees to the New World were brought by the Providence ship in 1793. Today the breadfruit tree is eurysynusic in many tropical areas.

Structure of a breadfruit tree

Dried fruits of a breadfruit tree contain 76,7% of carbohydrates and 4,05% of proteins. Its caloric content makes 331 kcal on 100 g of a product, and nutrition value: 14% of sugar, 60-80% of starch, 0,2-0,8% of fats.

Use of a breadfruit tree

Preferential in the practical purposes use fruits of a breadfruit tree. Their use in cookery the most various: they are cooked, baked, dried, candied, eaten fresh, and even used for preparation of pancakes. The fact that crude fruits are used as vegetables, and mature – as fruit is interesting. About degree of a maturity latex drops can understand on speakers on a peel.

To taste fruits of a breadfruit tree can be compared to potatoes. In many areas, in particular on oceanic islands, they are an important food stuff. As fresh pulp of fruits quickly spoils, many ways of preparation of fruits for the future were thought up. For example, do crackers which do not spoil for several years of fruits. And if to bury the cleared fruits in leaves of banana and a plant of a gelikoniya, then they will overferment and will turn into the pasty weight which is edible a long time.

Eat also seeds of a breadfruit tree which eat fried or boiled with salt.

In addition to fruits use wood and leaves of a tree. Successfully feed with leaves and fruits cattle (goats and pigs). And wood has high resistance to parasites therefore perfectly is suitable for construction of boats.