Hug This Tree: Breadfruit Tree

Hey folks. This week I let my pal pick the tree to hug, and he said, “breadfruit.” So… breadfruit it is.

Image via here.

The breadfruit tree is a fast growing tree that in some cases can grow to 85 ft tall. Oddly shaped, with thick spreading branches and bright green and glossy leaves. This is a flowering fruit tree (bet you couldn’t guess from the name) and the flowers develop into roundish or pear shaped fruits. The fruits look like they have a thick rind, but in fact the rind is pretty darn thin and is usually yellow-brown when ripe, although there’s also one lavender variety. This tree thrives in warmer, moist climates and doesn’t handle cold well.

Image via here.

The history of the breadfruit is actually one of the more interesting tree histories – with tales of the breadfruit dating back all the way to 12th Century A.D. Hawaiians (way back then) believed that breadfruit was brought from the Samoan island of Upalu to Oahu. Many more stories and history facts surround this tree though. Read more.

Breadfruit can be roasted and used as bread (which I personally have no experience with), dried, boiled, fried, baked, or ground into flour. And yup, some people eat it raw.

Have you seen a breadfruit tree – OR eaten breadfruit? Tell me what you think…