Jackfruit Trees
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Jackfruit trees are evergreen and grow fairly large to 30 to 40 feet tall. Leaves are dark green, alternate, glossy and somewhat leathery, fairly large and oval shaped on mature wood and deeply lobed on young shoots. All parts of the leaf contain a sticky white latex. The jackfruit is a multiple fruit i.e., composed of the coherence of multiple flowers. Fruit is moderately large to very large, weighing from 10 to 60 pounds. The skin is extremely rough and thick. Fruit skin color is green when immature and green, greenish-yellow to brownish-yellow when ripe. The inside of the fruit contains the edible, sweet, aromatic, crispy, soft, or melting pulp that surrounds each seed. Between the seeds and edible pulp is the inedible “rag”. Pulp color varies from amber to yellow, dark yellow, or orange. Seeds are ¾ to 1¼ inches long, oval; the number per fruit varies from 30 to 500. The time from flowering to fruit maturity ranges from 150 to 180 days. The main fruiting season is in summer and fall. Some fruit may ripen at other times, but usually not in winter and early spring.