The Breadfruit tree, Artocarpus altilis Fosberg, is i spreading and shady, growing to 10—15 m (30— J 50 ft.) high. Its leaves are large, to 50 cm (20 in.), and lobate or incised. They may be entire and oblong when juvenile or when the tree has beendamaged by high winds. Male and female flowers are grouped in separate catkins on the same tree. Syncarp fruits, spherical or ovoid in shape, develop from the female catkins. Many varieties of seedless and seed-bearing breadfruit are known, and for manycenturies a program of selecting desirable varieties has been carried out in Polynesia.
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