''Artocarpus anisophyllus'', the entawak or mentawa, is a tropical tree in the
Moraceae
The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
. It is native to the central parts of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, and is present in
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
,
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
,
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
and the intervening islands.
It bears round, 3–4 inch long, brownish yellow fruit. The entawak's flesh is orange-red and may taste like a pumpkin in flavor, while it also has edible seeds which are commonly roasted and salted to be eaten. Rarely cultivated in its native range, it is a large rainforest tree growing up to 45 metres. The fruit is eaten fresh and its propagation is by seed. It is a distant relative to the wellknown
jackfruit
The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...
and
breadfruit
Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...
, besides the tasty
tarap fruit to which it is closely related. It is propagated by seeds, grafting and cuttings besides other viable methods. While it grows exceedingly well in tropical climates, it is not as well-adapted to subtropical climates. When grown from seed the germination may take 1–3 months and it will probably bear fruit within 8–9 years. It cannot survive temperatures below and requires temperatures higher than to flourish.
Gallery
Terap Ikal (Artocarpus anisophyllus) (8082546991).jpg, foliage
Rainforest Discovery Centre Sepilok 20190708 062944 (1).jpg, foliage and fruit
Artocarpus anisophyllus fruit, Desa Kebadu, Kecamatan Balai, Kabupaten Sanggau - West Kalimantan.jpg, collected fruit
See also
*
Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
One of the major Early human migrations, human migration events was the Maritime history, maritime Austronesian expansion, settlement of Austronesia, the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at l ...
References
anisophyllus
Trees of Peninsular Malaysia
Trees of Sumatra
Trees of Borneo
Taxa named by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel
Plants described in 1861
{{Moraceae-stub