African breadfruit

Description

Treculia africana is a tree species in the genus Treculia which can be used as a food plant and for various other traditional uses. The fruits are hard and fibrous, can be the size of a volleyball and weigh up to 8.5 kg (19 lb). Chimpanzees have been observed to use tools to break the fruits into small pieces that they can eat. The fruits contain polyphenols. Treculia africana is a species of tree known in English as African breadfruit (Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, USA), breadfruit (Nigeria), wild jackfruit (Tanzania, Uganda),and African boxwood (Malawi). Many names are given to this species in the Igbo language in southern Nigeria, but the most common is ukwa. The geographical distribution of T. Africa extends through West and Central Africa. The species can grow below 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level. T. africana is a large tree in the family Moraceae. It grows in wet areas and forests. The species can grow up to a height of 30 m (98 ft). The girth of the stem can attain 6 m (20 ft). The bark is grey and discharges a cream latex. The leaves are large and dark green above and lighter below. Trees are dioecious (sexes on separate trees) or sometimes monoecious. Leaves occur in two ranks; stipules are amplexicaul (enclosing the bud). Inflorescences are unisexual, sometimes bisexual, or globose, and borne in the leaf axils or on the older wood and branches. Pistillate (female) flowers line the outer surface of a large receptacle (‘bread fruit’). The flowering period is from October until February. The fruit is big, round, and greenish yellow. The texture of the fruit is spongy when it is ripe, and it contains abundant seeds, which are the edible part of this fruit. Under good environmental conditions, the yield from one tree is 200 kg of dried seeds. Seeds are dicotyledonous.