Artocarpus hirsutus Lam.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Rosales > Moraceae > Artocarpus > A. hirsutus

Description: Evergreen trees, to 50 m high, bark 10-15 mm thick, surface dull grey-brown, smooth, lenticellate, exfoliations thin, exfoliated surface red, fibrous; blaze creamy turning to pinkish-yellow; exudation milky white, sticky, branchlets hirsute. Leaves simple, alternate; stipules to 4 cm long, lateral, densely tawny strigose; petiole 10-30 mm long, stout, hirsute; lamina broadly ovate, obovate or elliptic, base acute, obtuse or round, apex subacute or very shortly acuminate, margin entire, undulate, coriaceous, glabrous above, hirsute-pubescent beneath; lateral nerves 6-12 pairs, pinnate, prominent; intercostae scalariform, faint. Flowers unisexual, minute, yellowish-green; male in axillary, pendulous, narrowly cylindric spikes upto 15 cm long; tepals 2, united below; stamen 1; anther exserted, ovate, bracteoles chaffy; female flowers in axillary ovoid spikes; perianth tubular, confluent below with the receptacle; ovary superior, straight, ovule pendulous; style exserted; stigma undivided. Fruit a sorosis globose or ovoid, echinate, yellow when ripe, the spines cylindric, straight, hispid, perforate at the apex for filiform style; seeds long, ovoid, white.

Flowering and Fruiting: December - March

Uses: The tree is prized for its durable timber which is comparable in quality with teak. The timber was used extensively in the construction of ceilings, door frames and furniture in older buildings, especially in Kerala. Fruit is edible.

Cultivation: Natural /Cultivated.

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org