From Common trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
by Elbert L. Little and Frank H. Wadsworth
Mulberry Family (Moraceae)
Panapen, pana de pépitas, breadfruit
Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg
Breadfruit is a handsome tree planted for its edible fruits and
attractive foliage. It is easily recocfnized by: (1) the very large,
deeply 7-11- lobed, shiny dark green leaves about 1½ (1-3) feet
long; (2) the milky juice that exudes from the bark when cut; and (3)
the yellowish-green rounded or elliptic fruits 4-8 inches long. Two
varieties are distinguished: panapen being the common seedless variety,
and pana de pépitas the variety with seeds.
A medium-sized
spreading evergreen tree to 60 feet high and 2 feet or more in trunk
diameter, with relatively few stout branches. The brown bark is smooth,
with warty dots (lenticels). Inner bark is whitish and almost
tasteless, with white, slightly bitter latex. The very stout twigs ½-1
inch in diameter are green and minutely hairy, with rings at nodes, and
end in a large, pointed, finely hairy bud 5 inches or less in length,
formed by a big scale (stipule) around the developing leaf.
Leaves
are alternate on very stout green petioles 1-2 inches long. The leaf
blades are elliptic in outline, 9-20 inches across, the pinnate lobes
longpointed, short-pointed at base, slightly thickened, the upper
surface nearly hairless except along veins, and the lower surface
lighter green and finely hairy at least on veins. The 2 varieties
differ slightly in leaf shape and hairiness. Leaves of the seeded
variation are less deeply lobed, have usually 9 or 11 lobes instead of
the 7 common in the seedless variety, and are more hairy, bristly hairy
on veins above and finely and roughly hairy on lower surface.
Flowers
are very numerous and minute, the male and female on the same tree
(monoecious) in separate thick, fleshy clusters single at leaf bases on
stalks about 2 inches long. mThe male cluster is a cylindrical or
club-shaped soft mass about 5-12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter,
yellowish and turning brown. Male flowers 1/16, inch long, consisting of
2-lobed calyx and 1 stamen, are crowded on the outside. The female
flower cluster is elliptic or rounded, about 2½ inches long and1½
inches in diameter or larger, light green. In the variety with seeds
the female flowers are 3/8 inch long and 1/16 inch across, composed of a
tubular, conelike and pointed, hairy calyx projecting ¼ inch and
pistil with a sunken 1-celled 1-ovuled ovary and 2-lobed style. The
seedless variety has sterile female flowers projecting only about 1/32
inch.
The multiple fruits are covered with individual fruits and
contain a whitish starchy pulp formed from the enlarged stalk
(receptacle). In the seeded variety the fruit surface is composed of
greenish conical spinelike projections, each from a single flower, and
there are several large brown edible seeds. The seedless variety has a
smoothish surface honeycombed with individual fruits about 3/16 inch
across. Flowers and fruits are borne throughout the year.
The
sapwood is light yellow to yellowish brown, and the heartwood golden
colored, sometimes flecked with orange. The wood is very soft,
lightweight (specific gravity 0.27), yet quite firm and strong for its
weight. It is very susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites. There
are numerous large pores but no growth rings. Rate of airseasoning and
amount of degrade are moderate. Machining characteristics are as
follows: planing is fair; shaping, turning, boring, and mortising are
very poor; sanding is poor; and resistance to screw splitting is
excellent.
The wood is little used in Puerto Rico except
occasionally for interior partitions. Nevertheless, it is suitable for
boxes, crates, light construction, and toys. Surf boards were made from
the light wood in Hawaii.
The trees are also attractive for
ornament and shade. In periods of prolonged drought the leaves have
been cut to provide forage for cattle. The sticky sap has been used in
some places to catch birds.
Fruits are gathered before maturity
and roasted or boiled as a starchy vegetable, those of the seedless
variety being preferred. Or the young fruits can be sliced and fried.
Also, the seeds are boiled or roasted. A dessert and preserves are
sometimes made from the male flower clusters. Elsewhere the fruits have
served for fattening hogs.
This
tree was introduced into the
West Indies in 1793 from Tahiti of the South Sea Islands to provide
cheap food for slaves. It was claimed that three or four mature trees
could provide starchy food to support a man throughout the year.
Captain "William Bligh in the ship Providence chartered by the
British Government brought plants to St. Vincent and Jamaica. This
special
expedition was undertaken to transport potted plants of the
seedless variety tlie great distance. An earlier attempt with a cargo
of plants on board the ship Bounty failed owing to the famous mutiny
against Captain Bligh in 1789. About the same time the French brought a
few breadfruits to other islands of the "West Indies.
Propagation
is by root cuttings or layering and in the seeded variety by seeds,
growth is rapid. "Widely cultivated around homes almost throughout
Puerto Rico and occasionally escaping. Least common in the upper
mountain and dry limestone regions. Also in Mona, St. Croix, St.
Thomas, St. Jolm, and Tortola.
Range
- Native in islands of the South Pacific Ocean. Grown throughout
the tropics, the seeded variety sometimes escaping from cultivation.
Planted throughout the West Indies and in continental tropical
America. Rare in southern Florida and fruiting only at Key West.
Other Common Names
- ārbol de pan, palo de pan, pan, pana (Puerto Rico, Spanish);
lavapén, mapén, bombilla, pichones (Puerto Rico); pana foiastera
(seedless variety, Puerto Rico); castaña (seeded variety, Puerto Rico);
buen pan, albopán, pan de fruta (Dominican Republic); castaño del
Malabar (seeded variety, Cuba); mazapán. fruta de i)an, pan de fruta,
castaña (Guatemala); mazápan (Honduras); breadfruit (United States,
English); breadnut (seeded variety, English); chataigne (seeded
variety, Trinidad); mazapan (British Honduras); arbre à pain, fruit à
pain (French); arbre veritable (Haiti); châtaignier, châtaignier du
pays (seeded variety, French West Indies); palu di frut'i pan,
broodboom (Dutch West Indies); broodboom (Surinam); fructa päo
(Brazil).
Botanical Synonyms - Artocarpus communis J. R. & G. Forst., A. incisus (Thunb.) L. f.
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