| General Description | A medium-sized, evergreen tree that has a fairly dense canopy with shining leaves in all seasons. Flowers and fruit emerge directly from old stems and some roots. |
| ID Characteristic | All parts of the jackfruit tree contain a sticky, white latex sap. Greenish-yellow, giant fruit hang from branches and trunks during the mid summer. Some plate-like roots can extend for several metres outward from the trunk at ground level. |
| Shape | Erect, irregular, multi-stemmed tree with a round shape and dense branches. |
| Landscape | Urban and rural plantings in tropical areas. |
| Propagation | Seeds, cuttings and grafting. Wash first in water for processing, germination takes 3-8 weeks, then transplant after 4 weeks. Cutting-grown plants, air-layering and grafted seedlings are possible, but unnecessary as it is easily germinated by seed. |
| Cultivation | Consistent temperature and pH conditions in well-drained, frost-free locations. Optimal soil structure is loose, fecund, with good drainage such as a light sandy loam with a pH of 6-7. |
| Pests | Young trees are susceptible to mealybugs and aphids. During the young fruit stage, fruits need to be carefully protected from fruit flies by woven bags. The tree is frost sensitive. |
| Notable Specimens | Many jackfruit trees are planted as street trees in Shenzhen University and Hainan University, China. |
| Habitat | Humid tropical forests in the equatorial zone with a altitude of 1-1600 m and with an average rainfall of 100-240 cm. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The thick bark has a reddish-brown colour. Branchlets are glabrous and smooth, about 3-6 mm. When cut, produces a very sticky, milky sap. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The apex of the bud is pointed, slender, imbricate, 3 - 4 cm long, fairly shiny and emerald. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are oblong or elliptic in form, entire, simple, glossy, leathery and deep green in colour. Juvenile leaves are often deeply lobed. 7-15 cm long, 3-7 cm wide. |
| Flower Description | It is a monoecious plant with male and female flowers on the same tree. The male flowers are held by a thin pedicel. Short, stout flowering twigs grow all over the trunk and branches. Female flowers are larger than the male flowers with thick pedicel. Male flowers produce sticky yellow pollen for attracting small insects via a sweet scent. The male inflorescence is 5 - 7 cm long and has a diameter of 2.5 cm. |
| Fruit Description | The tree has a composite or multiple fruit, called syncarp. The fruit is 30-80 cm long and 25-50 cm wide. It has an elliptic shape and is green to yellow in colour. Each contain up to 400 kidney-shaped seeds called achenes which are light brown to brown in colour and are about 13 cm long, 6 cm wide, with fibrous carpels. The female perianth is edible, and its taste resembles that of a pineapple. |
| Colour Description | The beautiful leaves have a radiantly deep green colour year-round. Huge fruits ripen by turning yellow to brown from March to June. Bark changes with age from orange to brown. |