The jackfruit is an erect, evergreen tree that grows up to 30 m high and 80-200 cm in diameter. Bud-grafted trees are usually smaller – measuring 3.0 – 4.5 m high. All parts of the plant – trunk, leaves and fruit – contain white, sticky latex. Young jackfruit leaves are lobed but they become entire as they mature. The leaves are dark green and shiny above, and paler green beneath. The jackfruit is the largest fruit in the world; weighing from 4 to 40 kg. The fruit is roughly oblong in shape. The skin is extremely rough and thick. Fruit skin colour is green when unripe 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. Fully ripe jackfruit produces a strong aroma.
Growth habit: The jackfruit is an erect, evergreen tree that grows up to 30 m high and 80-200 cm in diameter. Bud-grafted trees are usually smaller – measuring 3.0 – 4.5 m high. All parts of the plant – trunk, leaves and fruit – contain white, sticky latex. The bark is rough to somewhat scaly, dark grey to greyish brown in colour. The crown is dense and conical in young trees, becoming rounded or spreading in the older trees. New shoots, twigs and leaves are usually glabrous (non-hairy). Jackfruit flowers grow from the trunk on short stalks. The male flowers are located higher on the tree above the female flowers.
Foliage: The leaves are elliptical-obovate in shape and measure about 20 cm long. They are wide with entire margins. Young leaves may occasionally be lobed. The leaves are dark green and shiny above, paler green beneath and bluntly tipped; petiole 2-4 cm long and sparsely hairy.
Flowers: Short, stout flowering twigs emerge from the trunk and large branches. Male and female flower are separate. Male flowers are produced on new wood amongst the leaves or above female flowers. Male flowers produce sticky yellow pollen that has a sweet scent that attracts small insects. The male inflorescence is 5-15 cm long and 2-4.5 cm wide and composed of both sterile and fertile flowers.
Female flowers are larger than male flower and hang from thick, short stalks on mature wood. They are cylindrical, dark green, 5-15 cm long and 3-4.5 cm across with a distinct annulus at the top of a stout stalk. The female flower clusters are elliptical or round. The stigmatic surface is composed of papillae that becomes sticky 1-2 weeks after exertion and remains so for a further 2 weeks.
After anthesis the male heads turn blackish and drop off while the fertilised female heads develop into mature fruits.
Fruit: The jackfruit is a multiple fruit that is composed of the coherence of multiple flowers. The fruit hangs from thick stalks on the trunk and main branches. The jackfruit is the largest fruit in the world; weighing from 4-40 kg. A few cultivars are small fruited, weighing 1.5-4.0 kg each. The fruit is roughly oblong in shape and measures up to 90 cm long and 50 cm in diameter .
The skin is extremely rough and thick. Fruit skin colour is green when unripe 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 colour varies from amber to yellow, dark yellow or orange. Seeds are 2 to 3 cm long and oval. The number per fruit varies from 30 to 500. There are two main varieties. In one, the fruits have small, fibrous, soft, mushy, but very sweet pulp. The other variety is crisp and almost crunchy though not quite as sweet.
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