Moraceae, Artocarpus lakoocha, Monkey jack, Lakoocha, Emerald Jack, Pachoo Phanas (Bangalore), Badahar (Guyana), Selengking (Borneo)
This is the ripe orange bumpy fruit. I was unable to identify it for a long time, just recently found it in a book called Fruits and Cultivated Exotics that I found at Fairchild Botanical Garden.
The taste and texture are very interesting. Taste is tangy and slightly citrus-like. The texture is like that of unripe jackfruit only finer fibers, as a visitor to the site pointed out (see comments), similar to kiwi. I germinated a bunch of seed about five months ago. The small trees are just now about to surpass me in height. Supposedly the tree yields an excellent hardwood, said to be superior to Teak, useful for toolhandles and construction both above and below water. The trees I saw were not cultivated as a hardwood.
This photo was taken a month after transplanting the germinated seedlings, they are growing quickly. I’ll take some up-to-date photos to upload today.
anthropogen 
I would love to have a taste! Where did you find the fruit?
I actually found this fruit in the Summit Botanic Garden, outside Panama City. The gardens were established as experimental gardens back during the Canal heyday so they have quite an interesting, albeit semi-abandoned / neglected, collection of pan-tropical fruit and nuts. This tree was planted with a number of others along one of the back boarderlines.
Where did u find it? It grows up to be huge towering tree in tropical and sub-tropical South Asia, the bark of which is also used for chewing for its high tanin content.
I have two saplings growing in my garden in the West Coast city of Mumbai in India. I got one from the fruit which I picked up and ate in a seaside wildlife sanctuary called Phansad, and I got the other one from a nursery from the Silicon Valley city of India called Bangalore. It’s also called emerald jack (pachoo phanas) in the local language.
It also grows in Guyana, they call it Badahar
I have one in my orchard since one year. I used to call it “the mystery tree” because I lost the label… Then yesterday I found it in the ground! Now i can figure out what it is thanks to the Internet… The fruit looks pretty weird though… Hope it ‘s better tasting than the dreaded “noni” (morinda citrifolia)
This plant also found in Borneo. Local peoples call this tree ‘Selengking’. The fruit taste like kiwi and very fresh fruit fragrance so I called this fruit as ‘Bornean Kiwi’. All part of the fruit we can eat exclude the seeds.
Thanks for the comment. Very interesting. I had not previously heard that A. lakoocha seeds were edible. I did know that jackfruit seeds are. I guess it makes sense considering their close relation. Are you aware of any medicinal properties of Lakoocha (Selengking)? I have heard that the bark can be chewed for similar effects as betel nut?
Ah, wait, I just re-read you’re comment Fendie, I see that you said you eat all part of the fruit excluding the seed. Thanks again. Glad I reread that before poisoning myself.
Got quite a few Artocarpus growing in Mexico but never managed to get a hold of the lakoocha , seems the seeds have a very short life once out of the fruit ….
If anybody has access to seeds …please…..
Luc
Yeah, short viability on A. lakoocha. I know of only one source, where all of my trees came from. It appears to fruit once a year.
The name of the book you saw at Fairchild is “Brazilian Fruits and Cultivated Exotics”, by Harri Lorenzi et al. This fruit is also grown in Brazil.
Yes, I believe that was the book. Is the fruit much appreciated/utilized in Brazil? I’d be interested to hear of more uses. I was told the bark is chewed as a mild stimulant. Among the few trees I have seen, fruit size and quality vary quite a bit. I have a seed source for a good tasting variety with a fairly large fruit.
i have eaten this fruit . its flavour is excellent slightly tangy.i am trying to get a plant or seeds.anyone has any suggestions
My Lakoocha is fruiting for the first time right now. I grew the tree(s) from seed collected from an old tree at Flamingo Gardens in Davie, FL. It’s either four or five years old.
Thanks for the comment. How big do your Lakoocha fruits get? Do you eat them?
from where i get nutritive value of artocarpus lakoocha if u have can u pls send it on my email id pls it is very important m doing research on it and i want to check whether my result is correct or not.
I’ll see if I can find the nutritive information in any of the reference books I have. I have found it difficult to find detailed information on the species as it is not very well known nor widely distributed.
What are the names for this in South India (specifically in Tamil Nadu)?
Where are the best places to find fruits of it sold?
Please tell me in which nursery in Bangalore you found this tree. Thank you.
I’m from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the caribbean i ate this fruit(badahar) as a child in my grandmother’s garden enjoyed it very much,I think the fruit is usually gotten in October.
this is one the the rarest and most delicious tropical fruit. if you have not taste it in your lifetime, you are missing out. a little bit of citrus but second to none flavor.
I have tasted this fruit in silago so. leyte. hoping that the trees are still there
they call this ku bi
hay guys we are the Scholars from UHS LHR & working on the constituents & effects of THE ARTOCARPUS LAKOOCHA
Very interesting. Where can information/findings from your research be accessed?
Spencer
Hi I am in Cairns , Australia. I have 1 tree that is a few yeats old and 5-6 metres tall. Had a few small, tasteless fruit for the first time this year. I’m hoping that will change as the tree matures
Does this species fruit well with just one tree or do I need a couple ? – I know some other members of the Artocarpus family are more likely to fruit if more than 1 tree is present
regards
Jim Reeves, Cairns
Hello. I am from Trinidad. I have been searching for a plant/seedling in Trinidad for over thirty five years. Please help!
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