Jack Tree

Location in BHU campus: Commonly grown in the premises of hostels and residences.

Botanical name : Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk. syn A.integrifolia auct.mult.

Family : Moraceae

Vernacular / local Name : Assam-Kathal; Bengali-Kanthal; Gujarati-Phanas; Hindi-Kathal; Kannada-Halasu, hebhalasu; Malayalam-Chakka (fruit) ,pilavu ,plavu(tree); Marathi-Phanas; Oriya-Ichodopholo, kantokalo, ponoso; Sanskrit-Ashaya,atibrihatphala; panasa,phanasa; Tamil-Murasabalam,pala,pila; Telugu-Panasa,verupanasa

English names : Jack tree

A large evergreen tree,10-20 m high,with a short thick bole and a dense crown; bark dark brown and rough, pale pink inside, with milky latex. Leaves obovate to elliptic, thickly coriaceous, shiny above, glabrous. Stipules large ,falling off early .Flower heads in bud stage enveloped in large stipular deciduous sheaths. Flowers minute, yellowish green; male and female heads borne on stem (cauliflorous) and thick branches. Fruits (syncarp), 30-100x25-30 cm, cylindric, yellowish with tubercled surface. Seeds smooth, ovoid, surrounded by yellow pulp.

Flowering: February-March

Fruiting : April-August

• Sacred value

The plant is associated with the star Uttarashada and Mithunarasi.

• Uses

Unripe fruits are used as vegetable or pickled; ripe ones are eaten fresh or preserved in syrup.Seeds are rich in starch and eaten after boiling or roasting.Wood is used for general carpentry work,and for making furniture, brushbacks, turnery, inlay work and musical instruments. The tree yields a yellow colouring matter.