| Description |
The Breadfruit tree is a flowering tree in the Moraceae family (which also includes Mulberry and Jackfruit) that produces grapefruit-sized or larger round yellow fruit. It is an ultra-tropical plant native to the South Pacific that has spread throughout Oceania, South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, Central America, and Africa. It requires temperatures between 16–38 °C and an annual rainfall of 200–250 cm. It can be grown outdoors in USDA Zones 9b-11, or indoors in a container. It's name comes from the texture of it's fruit when cooked, which is similar to freshly baked bread and has a potato-like flavor. The tree's fruits can be eaten ripe as a fruit or underripe as a vegetable. A single tree can produce 200 or more fruits per season. It's light, sturdy timber is used in building ships and houses in the tropics, and all parts of the tree yield latex, which can be used to caulk boats.
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