Botanical Name

Artocarpus hirsutus 

Family

Moraceae

Sanskrit name

Unknown

English name

Wild Jackfruit

Hindi name

Kathal

Kannada name

Hebbalasu

Origin

India

Conservation Status

Least concern

Habit

Tree

Habitat

Moist deciduous and Evergreen forests 

Plant Description

It is an evergreen tree with bark surface dull grey-brown, smooth, warty, exfoliations thin, peeled surface red, fibrous; blaze creamy turning to pinkish-yellow; exudation milky white, sticky, branchlets hairy. Leaves are simple wavy, leathery, hairless above, hairy-velvet-hairy beneath, prominent. Flowers are unisexual, minute, yellowish-green; male in leaf-axils, drooping, in narrowly cylindric spikes. Fruit is a fleshy multiple fruit like mulberry.

Distribution

South East Asia.Southern India; Sahyadris.

Part used

Fruit, wood

Mdicinal uses

Oil from these fruits can be used for the treatment of skin diseases. Also ininsect bites,diarrhoea, pimples, cracked skin

Other uses

A valuable timber, it is used for house and boat building, furniture

Ecological Significance

Attracts birds