One day last week, I saw a tree in the ashram that had a jackfruit growing on it. I have seen them in markets before but never on a tree. Today, I went back to that area of the ashram to take a closer look.
A friend from Malaysia was standing nearby, so I confirmed that the fruit was indeed a jackfruit. She told me jackfruit trees usually have a lot more fruit on them than this tree and the trees generally don’t grow so tall. Since this tree was near tall buildings, we thought it was probably reaching for sunlight.
The first was taken looking up at the top of the tree. The second was the middle section. If you look closely at that one you will see an area that has a new fruit starting to grow and another place where there is a flower. The third photo is of the two big jackfruit that drew my attention.
I looked up jackfruit on the internet and learned some interesting facts.
1. Jackfruit is the state fruit of Kerala, India, the state I am visiting.
2. They can weight up to 80 pounds and can be 35 inches long and 20 inches in diameter.
3. A mature tree may produce up to 250 jackfruit a year.
4. One site said a jackfruit is made up of many flowers (hundreds to thousands of them) and it is actually the petals that are being eaten. Another site described them as edible bulbs.
5. Ripe jackfruit are eaten as a fruit; unripe jackfruit are used as vegetables.
6. Every part of the tree can be used. The wood is termite resistant.
7. The fruit is high in fiber and a good source of vitamin C and the B vitamin complex. It also is a significant source of other minerals.
I found some interesting jackfruit photos and graphics on pixabay.com. You can click on the gallery to enlarge the photos.
To read more about jackfruit go to:
25 Fun and Interesting Facts about Jackfruit
Fun Facts about Jackfruit
Jackfruit Nutrition Facts
The last photo I will share is a close-up of the jackfruit I saw on the tree in Amritapuri.
To read previous posts in this series click here.
Living, Learning and Letting Go 