Artocarpus elasticus Reinw. Ex Blume
Family
Moraceae
Synonyms
Artocarpus blumei Trécul, Artocarpus kunstleri King.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Terap nasi (Peninsular), terap (Sarawak), terap togop (Sabah). |
| English |
Wild breadfruit. |
| Brunei | Danging, tebagan, terap hutan. |
| Indonesia |
Benda (Javanese, Sundanese), teureup (Sundanese), terap (Sumatra,Kalimantan). |
| Thailand |
Oh, ka oh, tuka (Peninsular). |
Geographical Distributions
Artocarpus elasticus is native to Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia (Irian Jaya excluded) and the Philippines (Palawan). It is also cultivated, for instance in Malaysia and Indonesia (Java, Kalimantan).
Description
Artocarpus elasticus is an evergreen, monoecious tree that can reach up to 45(-65) m tall. Its bole is branchless up to 30 m, up to 1.2(-2) m in diametre and with buttresses up to 3 m high. The outer bark is dark grey, smooth to slightly scaly, while upon wounding, it exudes a white and thick latex. The inner bark (bast) is yellowish to pale brown. The sapwood is yellowish-white. The twigs are 1-2 cm in diametre, bearing ring-like stipular scars and short hispid.
The leaves are arranged spirally, stiffly leathery, 2-3-times pinnatifid in juvenile trees and up to 2 m long, while in adult trees the leaves are simple. The stipules are amplexicaul, lance-shaped, measure 6-20 cm long, and hispid-pubescent with yellow to red-brown hairs.
The petiole is 4-10 cm long. The blade is ovate to elliptical, measuring 15-60 cm x 10-35 cm, with rounded or wedge-shaped base, entire or shallowly crenate margin and acuminate apex. The midrib is raised above, with 12-14 pairs of lateral veins which are flat and distinct above but prominently raised below. The upper surface is appressed-hispid while the lower surface is bullate and pubescent-hispid.
The inflorescence is unisexual, capitate, solitary and axillary. The numerous flowers are densely packed together and embedded in the receptacle. The perianths enclose a single stamen or ovary, usually mixed with abundant, stalked and interfloral bracts. The male head on peduncle is 4-7.5 cm long, cylindrical, measuring 6-15(-20) cm x 1.5-2.5 cm, with distinct deep grooves and yellow. The perianth is tubular, 0.8 mm long, bilobed at apex and appressed-pubescent. The stamens are up to 0.9 mm long. The female head is with bifid styles and exserted to 1 mm.
The fruit is a syncarp on a peduncle 7-12 cm long, cylindrical, and measures up to 17 cm x 10 cm, yellow-brown, covered with closely set hairs, fleshy and whitish. The short hispid processes (‘spines’) are of 2 lengths where the longer ones are zigzag and solid, measuring 10-18 mm x 1-1.5 mm while the shorter ones are narrowly conical, perforate and measuring 4 mm x 1 mm. The interfloral bracts are scattered between the processes, slenderly stalked and funnel-shaped at the upper parts. There are numerous fruiting perianths. The seed (the thin, horny pericarp) is ellipsoidal and measure 10 mm x 6 mm. Seedling is with hypogeal germination.
Ecology / Cultivation
Artocarpus elasticus is found in evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, both primary and secondary, up to 1500 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.17: Fibre plants.
