Jackfruit

Description

A tropical tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) with sweet, edible fruit that is native to India. Jackfruit trees are widely cultivated throughout southeast Asia and Brazil. The fine-grained wood from the jackfruit tree is commonly used in percussion type musical instruments (gamelan) made in Indonesia.

Synonyms and Related Terms

kathal (Bengali), katahar (Bhojpuri); katahal (Hindi); chakka (Malayam); nangka (Ned., Indonesian); lanka (Tagalog); palaa (Tamil); kanoon (Thai); mit (Viet.); jaca (Port.); Jackfrucht (Deut.); jacquier (Fr.)

Additional Images

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  Jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus

Authority

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "jackfruit" Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed 25 Jan. 2006].

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit