Artocarpus is a genus of approximately 60 trees and shrubs of Southeast Asian and Pacific origin, belonging to the mulberry family, Moraceae. Most species of Artocarpus are restricted to Southeast Asia; a few cultivated species are more widely distributed, especially A. altilis (breadfruit) and A. heterophyllus (jackfruit), which are cultivated throughout the tropics.[1]
All Artocarpus species are laticiferous trees or shrubs that are composed of leaves, twigs and stems capable of producing a milky sap. The flora type is monoecious and produces unisexual flowers; furthermore, both sexes are present within the same plant. The plants produce small, greenish, female flowers that grow on short, fleshy spikes. Following pollination, the flowers grow into a syncarpous fruit, and these are capable of growing into very large sizes. The stipulated leaves vary from small and entire (Artocarpus integer) to large and lobed (Artocarpus altilis), with the cordate leaves of the species A. altilis ending in long, sharp tips.
The name Artocarpus is derived from the Greek words artos ("bread") and karpos ("fruit"). This name was coined by Johann Reinhold Forster and J. Georg Adam Forster, a father-and-son team of botanists aboard HMS Resolution on James Cook's second voyage; they used it in their book Characteres generum plantarum. It is maintained as a conserved name.
Although fossils of Artocarpus have been reported from as early as the Late Cretaceous, these fossils generally that lack key diagnostic characters such as that could definitively place them in the genus. The last common ancestor of all living Artocarpus likely originated in the vicinity of Borneo, from which Artocarpus dispersed elsewhere in Asia and Oceania.[2]
Recent phylogenetic research, based on leaf arrangement, leaf anatomical characters and stipules, indicates that there are at least two subgenera in Artocarpus:
Subgenus Pseudojaca is allied to the genus Prainea, and some researchers treat this taxon as a fourth subgenus of Artocarpus.
| Subgenus | Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artocarpus | Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg | Breadfruit, Seedless breadfruit, Sukun, Kolo, Rimas, Anubing | Oceania from New Guinea through the Indo-Malayan Archipelago to western Micronesia | |
| Artocarpus anisophyllus Miq. | Popwan, Entawak, Mentawa | Palawan (Philippines), Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo | ||
| Artocarpus blancoi (Elmer) Merr. | Antipolo | Philippines (Endemic) | ||
| Artocarpus brevipedunculatus (F. M. Jarrett) C. C. Berg | Borneo | |||
| Artocarpus camansi Blanco | Breadnut, Kamansi, Kluwih, Deeball, Seeded breadfruit | Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea | ||
| Artocarpus corneri Kochummen | Borneo (Sarawak) | |||
| Artocarpus chama Buch.-Ham. | Chaplaish | Yunnan China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sikkim, Thailand | ||
| Artocarpus elasticus Reinw. ex Blume | Benda, Bendo, Teureup, Malagumihan | Burma, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi, Moluccas | ||
| Artocarpus excelsus Jarrett | Borneo (Sabah) | |||
| Artocarpus glaucus Blume | Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia | |||
| Artocarpus hirsutus Lam. | Anjily, WildJack, Jungle Jack, Angelin, Hirsute Artocarpus, Aini Maram, Aini | Western Ghats, India | ||
| Artocarpus hispidus Jarrett | Peninsular Malaysia | |||
| Artocarpus horridus Jarrett | Maluku | |||
| Artocarpus jarrettiae Kochummen | Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak) | |||
| Artocarpus kemando Miq. | Pudau, Pudu | Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo | ||
| Artocarpus lanceifolius Roxb. | Keledang | Indonesia | ||
| Artocarpus lowii King | Peninsula Malaysia to Sumatera | |||
| Artocarpus maingayi King | Borneo | |||
| Artocarpus mariannensis Trécul | Dugdug | Mariana Islands and Guam | ||
| Artocarpus melinoxylus Gagnep. | Vietnam | |||
| Artocarpus multifidus Jarrett | Philippines (Mindanao, Samar) | |||
| Artocarpus nobilis Thwaites | Ceylon breadfruit | south western regions of Sri Lanka | ||
| Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco | Johey oak, Terap, Marang, Morangbaum | Borneo, Philippines (Palawan and Mindanao Island) | ||
| Artocarpus obtusus Jarrett | Borneo (Sarawak) | |||
| Artocarpus pinnatisectus Merr. | Philippines (Luzon, Mindanao) | |||
| Artocarpus rigidus Blume | Monkey jackfruit | Indochina and Malesia | ||
| Artocarpus sarawakensis F.M.Jarrett | Pingan, Mountain Terap | Sarawak | ||
| Artocarpus scortechinii King | Two winged Artocarpus, Black Terap | Malaysia | ||
| Artocarpus sepicanus Diels | New Guinea | |||
| Artocarpus sericicarpus F.M.Jarrett | Peluntan, Gumihan, Pedalai, Hairy Terap | Borneo (Sarawak), Malaysia (Sabah), the Philippines (Mindoro), and Indinesia (Kalimantan) | ||
| Artocarpus sumatranus Jarrett | Sumatra | |||
| Artocarpus tamaran Becc. | Elephant Jack, Tamaran | Borneo | ||
| Artocarpus teysmannii Miq. | Nicobar Islands, Peninsula Thailand to W. New Guinea | |||
| Artocarpus treculianus Elmer | Tipuho, Pakak, Kabaya, Togop, Tugup | Batanes (Philippines) | ||
| Cauliflori (F.M. Jarrett) Zerega, Supardi, and Motley | Artocarpus annulatus Jarrett | Borneo (Sarawak) | ||
| Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. | Nangka, Langka, Jackfruit | India, South East of Indian Subcontinent, China, Philippines | ||
| Artocarpus integer (Thunb.) Merr. | Cempedak, Badak | southeast Asia, especially from Malaysia and can be found in Indonesia to the island of New Guinea, Palawan, Philippines | ||
| Pseudojaca Trécul | Artocarpus albobrunneus Berg | Borneo (Kalimantan) | ||
| Artocarpus altissimus (Miq.) J. J. Smith | Peninsula Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo (Kalimantan) | |||
| Artocarpus borneensis Merr. | Tampang | Borneo | ||
| Artocarpus dadah Miq. | Dadah, Tampang | Sumatra | ||
| Artocarpus fretessii Teysm. & Binnend. | Eastern Borneo, the Philippines, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Irian Jaya | |||
| Artocarpus fulvicortex Jarrett | Malaya to Sumatera | |||
| Artocarpus gomezianus Wall. ex Trécul | Sampang | Assam to W. Malesia | ||
| Artocarpus gongshanensis S.K.Wu ex C.Y.Wu & S.S.Chang | NW Yunnan, China | |||
| Artocarpus griffithii (King) Merr. | Beruni, Selanking | Southern China to Sumatra, Singapore and Borneo | ||
| Artocarpus humilis Becc. | Beruni, Selanking | Borneo | ||
| Artocarpus hypargyreus Hance ex Benth. | White Kwai Muk | China | ||
| Artocarpus lacucha Buch.-Ham. | Lakoocha, Monkey fruit | Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia | ||
| Artocarpus lamellosus Blanco | Butong | China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, S Hunan, S Yunnan), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | ||
| Artocarpus longifolius Becc. | Borneo | |||
| Artocarpus nanchuanensis S.S.Chang et al. | Chongqing (Nanchuan), China | |||
| Artocarpus nigrifolius C.Y.Wu | S Yunnan (Jinping), China | |||
| Artocarpus ovatus Blanco | Philippines | |||
| Artocarpus parvus Gagnep. | Kwai muk | South-East Asia, China | ||
| Artocarpus petelotii Gagnepain | China (SE Yunnan), N Vietnam | |||
| Artocarpus pithecogallus C.Y.Wu | China (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan) | |||
| Artocarpus primackiana Kochummen | Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak) | |||
| Artocarpus reticulatus Miq. | Sulawesi to Maluku | |||
| Artocarpus rubrovenia Warb. | Kalulot | Philippines | ||
| Artocarpus subrotundifolius Elmer | Philippines | |||
| Artocarpus styracifolius Pierre | China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, SW Hunan, SE Yunnan), Laos, Vietnam | |||
| Artocarpus thailandicus C.C.Berg | N Thailand | |||
| Artocarpus tomentosulus Jarrett | NE Borneo | |||
| Artocarpus tonkinensis A.Chev. ex Gagnep. | China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Yunnan), Cambodia, N Vietnam | |||
| Artocarpus vrieseanus Miq. | Sulawesi to New Guinea | |||
| Artocarpus xanthocarpus Merr. | Taiwan (Lan Yu), Indonesia (Kalimantan), Philippines | |||
Fossil leaves and fruits of †Artocarpus dicksoni have been found in Cretaceous formations of West Greenland. Fossil leaves of †Artocarpus ordinarius have been found in Cretaceous stratum at the south bank of the Yukon River just above Rampart, Alaska.[7] Fossils of †Artocarpus californica have been described from Eocene and Miocene strata of the Pacific coast of California and Oregon.[8] 8 fossil species of Artocarpus (†A. capellinii, †A. isseli, †A. macrophylla, †A. massalongoi, †A. multinervis, †A. ovalifolia, †A. sismondai and †A. taramellii) from the lower Oligocene, have been described from a fossil leaves collected from 1857 to 1889 in Santa Giustina and Sassello in Central Liguria, Italy.[9]
Several species in the genus bear edible fruit and are commonly cultivated: Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), Cempedak (Artocarpus integer), Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), Kwai Muk (Artocarpus parvus), Lakoocha (Artocarpus lakoocha), Pudau (Artocarpus kemando), Anjily (a.k.a. Jungle Jack) (Artocarpus hirsutus), Chaplaish (Artocarpus chama), and Marang (Artocarpus odoratissimus).
Breadfruit and jackfruit are cultivated widely in the tropical Southeast Asia. Other species are cultivated locally for their timber, fruit or edible seeds. Anjily, A. hirsutus, is grown for fruit and timber in the Western Ghats.