Plant of the day 1: The Breadfruit

Breadfruit plant, botanically known as Artocarpus communis is a flowering plant that grows primarily in the Tropical regions although reports of it being domesticated in other regions of the world are available. It belongs to Moraceae family of the flowering plants (Angiosperm), grows as a tree of medium to tall height and produces numerous green, round fruits which are usually consumed by birds when ripe.

The fruits of Artocarpus communis are locally known as 'Gbere' among the Yoruba speaking tribe of Nigeria. Mature but unripe fruits are usually used to prepare several local menus. The green fruits are peeled to remove the mesocarp, divided into smaller sizes and are eaten as such, pounded to make an improvised 'pounded yam' or utilized in the preparation of 'asaro' aka porridge.

In some cases, flakes of the peeled fruit are made and fried using groundnut oil to make what is locally known as 'dundun'. During the fruiting period which is usually twice in a year, several other foods made from the fruit are seen plying the streets.

Over-ripe fruits of the plant usually drop off from the tree and are seeing producing sweet smells where they are found. The over-ripe ones become soft and rotten as a result of the activities of microorganisms.

If you like this plant and would like to read more about it, you can visit here.

Thank you all for reading.