JACKFRUIT

(species Artocarpus heterophyllus), tree native to tropical Asia and widely grown throughout the wetland tropics for its large fruits and durable wood. Like its relative the breadfruit, it belongs to the mulberry family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is 15 to 20 m (50 to 70 feet) tall at maturity, has large stiff, glossy green leaves 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) long, and fruit up to 60 cm (about 2 feet) long and weighing up to 18 kg (about 40 pounds). The greenish unripe fruit is cooked as a vegetable, and the brown ripened fruit is eaten fresh for the sweetly acid but insipid pulp surrounding the seeds. The seeds are also cooked and eaten locally.