Artocarpus altilis
Family: Moraceae

This tropical fruit is widely cultivated in the Pacific Islands as a staple food, generally eaten baked or boiled. Ripe fruits are sweet and can be mashed to a paste and eaten as a dessert. The leaves are large and deeply lobed, with a very handsome appearance. The foliage has a wide range of uses, including thatching for roofs, clothing and as a wrap for baking foods. These trees can grow to over 15 m (50 ft) tall.

Cultivation

If grown at all in the UK it is just for novelty value under glass, although young specimens make attractive foliage plants. It needs a warm greenhouse and should be grown in a tub of soil-based potting compost.

Climate

Breadfruit is grown outside only in the tropics.