Lakshadweep – Breadfruit Tree
Common Name: Breadfruit
Local Name: kadachakka (Malayalam), Dahua (Hindi)
Scientific Name: Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg
Description: The Breadfruit trees with spreading branches grow up to a height of 26 m. The large and thick leaves are deeply cut into pinnate lobes. Male flowers are produced in long, pendulous, yellow-colored catkins; female flowers on short thick club-shaped structures. The trees can produce 200 or more grapefruit-sized fruits in a single season.
Importance: Breadfruits have a very high starch content and thus serve as an inexpensive, high-energy food source for the inhabitants of Lakshadweep. The roasted, baked, fried, or boiled breadfruits taste like freshly baked bread and are processed further to make various delicacies unique to the Lakshadweep islands. Wood is also used for making country boats, rafters, beams, posts, flooring, and furniture. The petioles are used for treating eye infections, while the roots are used for treating diarrhea and dysentery.