[8] Many names are given to this species in the Igbo language in southern Nigeria, but the most common is ukwa; French (arbre á pain d’Afrique); Luganda (muzinda); Swahili (mwaya); Wolof (brebretim).

Inflorescences are unisexual, sometimes bisexual, or globose, and borne in the leaf axils or on the older wood and branches.

The seed kernel is consumed more often than the fruit and is used in preparing ‘ukwa’ porridge, which is considered a delicacy by the Ibo ethnic group of southeast Nigeria.

The seeds can also be ground into flour to make bread, pasta, and baby food, or they can be pressed to yield an edible oil.

In addition, the fruit, pods, seeds and bran make an excellent, nutritious livestock feed and are a popular food for wild monkeys and chimpanzees.

Other parts of the plant have been used to treat a range of diseases from rheumatism and gastro-intestinal complaints to high blood pressure.

It is usually found near streams or in swampy forest areas at an altitude of up to 1,500 m. Under good environmental conditions, a single tree can produce 30 fruits and yield up to 10 kg of seeds each year.

The fermented mass is macerated and washed in running water until all adhering slimy, jelly-like substances have been removed.

[9] Found throughout Africa in countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

africana (extending from Senegal to Southern Sudan and south to Angola, central Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe islands), T. a. var.

mollis (isolated localities in Edo and Delta states of Nigeria, Cameroun, Congo, Gabon, and Cabinda).

Their taxonomic differences are based mainly on the size of the fruit head (infructence) and the hairiness of branchlets and leaves.

Key to the varieties of T. africana [17] African breadfruit is an edible traditional fruit, consumed, for example in Nigeria, where it is eaten as a main dish.

However, deforestation, higher demand for cultivated agricultural areas, and the increasing population reduce numbers of this important forest tree in the African tropics.

The Nutrecul Agroforestry Project, an authority in Treculia nursery, is taking the lead and has the most genetic variation of trees.