Jamaican Yellow-Heart Breadfruit Trees Available
A new ʻulu variety has made its way to Hawaiʻi! Here’s what you need to know…
History: Five breadfruit varieties were originally brought to Jamaica from Tahiti in 1791 during a special expedition led by William Bligh of the British colonies. Until recent decades, all breadfruit trees in Jamaica were descendants of that original supply.
Yellow-heart is a subtype of one of these original varieties and is favored for its sweet flavor. Over the centuries, it has become the most common and popular variety of breadfruit in Jamaica.
Yellow-heart was the general name given to breadfruit with the fruit flesh colored yellow.
…”the color of the flesh, which is an indicator of the amount of carotenoids present, is a function not only of the genetic makeup of the plant, but also of a myriad of environmental factors including soil type, solar irradiation, temperature, rainfall, and nutrient element availability.” (Webster, 2019)
In other words, the carotenoids, and thus the yellowness, of fruit grown in the Hawaiian environment may differ from fruit produced in Jamaica. At the time of this writing in 2023, there are no known fruiting Jamaican Yellow-heart varieties in Hawaiʻi, so we cannot say exactly how the fruit will compare to those grown in Jamaica.
Main Characteristics:
- Medium to very large fruit size
- Variable fruit shape, round to oblong
- Pale to bright yellow color of fruit flesh
- Fruit roasts easily
- Good organoleptic qualities (taste, smell, texture)
- Relatively longer shelf life than other Jamaican varieties
- Most preferred export breadfruit of Jamaica
Graph from a Jamaican breadfruit study which shows how the Yellow-heart variety compares to Maʻafala, ʻUlu Fiti, and Jamaican White varieties grown in Jamaica. (From left to right: Season, Size, Nutrition, Dry Matter)
Mature Yellow-heart breadfruit tree growing in Florida with members of the Trees that Feed Foundation in foreground.
Our nursery stock in Kona, ready for outplanting. Place an order for your own Yellow-heart tree today!
References:
Seymour Webster, Paul D. Virtue, and S. Michael McLaughlin. Breadfruit in Jamaica, and it’s potential as a major crop. Jamaica Journal, Feb. 2019. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Seymour-Webster/publication/331037046_Jamaica_Journal_Breadfruit/links/5c62aef045851582c3e26d35/Jamaica-Journal-Breadfruit.pdf
