From the book
Fruits of Warm Climates
by Julia F. Morton
Kwai Muk
possibly A. lingnanensis Merr.
MORACEAE
Excerpt from "Jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam." Related Species.
The Kwai Muk, possibly A. lingnanensis Merr., was introduced into Florida as A. hypargyraea Hance, or A. hypargyraeus
Hance ex Benth. The tree is a slow-growing, slender, erect ornamental
20 to 50 ft (6-15 m) tall, with much milky latex and evergreen leaves 2
to 5 in (5-12.5 cm) long. Tiny male and female flowers are yellowish
and borne on the same tree, the female in globular heads to 3/8 in (1
cm) long.
The fruits are more or less oblate and irregular, 1 to
2 in (2.5-5 cm) wide, with velvety, brownish, thin, tender skin and
replete with latex when unripe. When ripe, the pulp is orange-red or
red, soft, of agreeable subacid to acid flavor and may be seedless or
contain 1 to 7 small, pale seeds. The pulp is edible raw; can be
preserved in sirup or dried. Ripens from August to October in Florida.
The
tree is native from Kwangtung, China, to Hong Kong, and has been
introduced sparingly abroad. It was planted experimentally in Florida
in 1927 and was thriving in Puerto Rico in 1929. It grows at an
altitude of 500 ft (152 m) in China. Young trees are injured by brief
drops in temperature to 28° to 30°F (-2.22°-1.11°C).
Mature trees have endured 25° to 26°F (-3.89°-3.33°C)
in Homestead, Florida; have been killed by 20°F (-6.67°C) in
central Florida.
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