Originates from Asia, probably in the forests of the Western Ghats in India. It is widespread in other parts of the tropics and most popular in Sri Lanka. Introduced into Uganda in the early 1940s at Entebbe Botanic Garden, it has become very popular and is now commonly planted in Eastern, Central and Western Regions. Near Lake Victoria, seeds germinate and young trees sprout spontaneously and the species have become invasive in secondary vegetation. It requires well-drained, deep and fertile soils and will not tolerate drought or water logging. In Kampala, Jackfruit tree can be found within Uganda Golf course club, Makerere university, at Constitutional square, Kampala road among other places.

A medium-sized tree with thick branches, to 25 m. The bole is short, cylindrical and straight, up to 1 m in diameter in old specimens, branching less than 2 m from the ground. The trunk rarely buttressed, with a girth of 30-80 cm. Trees produce a long taproot; when injured, all living parts of the tree exude a copious, white gummy.

BARK: bark greyish-brown, roughbut smooth on the branches, uneven, somewhat scaly; inner bark thick, ochre; all parts smooth, having either no hairs or minute, white hairs up to 0.5 mm long with tips easily broken, giving twigs and leaves a slightly rough feel.

LEAVES:glossy, oval to 15 cm long and 10 cm wide, top dark green, underside pale green; may be flat, wrinkled or with up-curled sides; arranged alternately on horizontal branches, and spirally on ascending branches with 2/5 phyllotaxis; broadest at or above the mid-portion; pinnately nerved, with 5-12 pairs of veins; those on flower-bearing branches obovate or oblong, those on young shoots oblong, narrow; entire when mature, 2 or 3 lobed when young; apex blunt, short and pointed; base cuneate or pointed; midrib and main veins greenish-white to pale greenish-yellow; at the nodes, stipules fused around stem, leaving an encircling scar after they fall off.

FLOWERS: separate male and female, all very small but the female flowers have a stronger smell. The flowers are borne onthe trunkor large branches where the fruit—the largest known—develops. Female spikes either solitary or paired, oblong or cylindrical with rough, light to dark green skin, 5-15 cm, peduncle 8-9 mm thick; base with 3-4 mm wide and green annulus and the male spikes produced singly, elongated, whitish-green or dark green with smooth skin, becoming yellowish and rough when mature.

FRUIT: massive and irregular "cauliflowery", yellow-green compoundfruit with a spiky rind, reaching a record 20 kg in weight and 1 m in length. The flesh is sweet and edible but definitely an acquired taste. Seeds, up to 5 cm, are edible when roasted.

Edible: The pulp of young fruit is cooked as a vegetable, pickled or canned in brine or curry, pulp of ripe fruit is eaten fresh or made into various local delicacies (e.g., 'dodol' and 'kolak' in Java), chutney, jam, jelly and paste, or preserved as candy by drying or mixing with sugar, honey or syrup, the pulp is used to flavor ice cream and beverages, or reduced to a concentrate or powder and used for preparing drinks, the seeds, rich in vitamin A, Sulphur, calcium and phosphorus, are eaten after boiling or roasting, dried and salted as table nuts, or ground to make flour that is blended with wheat flour for baking, male spikes left to rot on trees are used as a salad or pickle. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Artocarpus_heterophyllus.PDF

The latex from the trunk and branches have resins that are valuable in varnishes.

The latex is commonly used as adhesive for mending broken chinaware or earthenware, caulking boats, mending holes of buckets and trapping birds.

It can serve as a substitute for rubber. 

The inner part of the bark or bast is occasionally made into cordage or cloth. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Artocarpus_heterophyllus.PDF

The bark gives a dark, water-soluble resinous gum that contains 3.3% tannin which when boiled with alum, the sawdust or chips of the heartwood produce a rich yellow dye used for silk and the cotton robes. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Artocarpus_heterophyllus.PDF

Agroforestry: can be used as a shade tree for both humans and crops like coffee, planted with coconut groves, can be used as an intercrop with mango and citrus, can be planted to control floods and soil erosion in farms, suitable for use in reforestation projects, leaves are harvested for fodder, and overripe, immature or fallen fruits can be fed to the animals.

Provides firewood and charcoal.

Medicine: the leaves, pulp and seeds of the fruit, sap, and roots. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Artocarpus_heterophyllus.PDF

Provides timber for furniture, construction, turnery and inlay work, masts, oars, implements and musical instruments.

The roots are highly prized for carvings and picture framing.

The arils can be fermented and distilled to produce an alcoholic beverage.