As I have recounted before, the breadfruit tree (Artocarpus altilis, which used to be A communis) came to the West Indies in 1793 on the good ship Providence, actually to Jamaica and St Vincent, both of which had well established botanical gardens. Every child of school age throughout the West Indies must have been told about Captain Bligh’s unsuccessful attempt on HMS Bounty to bring the fruit home because of the infamous mutiny led by Fletcher Christian who dumped the first trees overboard along with its captain.  The seedless fruit really never caught on in the West Indies.  The female variety produces seeds (called breadnuts) embedded in the pulp of the fruit which are absolutely delicious when boiled or roasted and then eaten.

To me, however, the main beauty of the tree is its leaves, and its stature when it is mature.

Large dark green and glossy they can be up to two feet long and a foot wide, and they have undoubted value in the landscape. As they grow they …..