Champedak
Artocarpus integer

Family: Moraceae

What it is like

Champedak or Artocarpus integer is a fast-growing, tropical tree that reaches up to 35 meters tall and 55 cm trunk diameter when fully matured. It has a dense, rounded crown. Its bark is dark grey or red-brown in colour. The leaves are oval and leathery. The fruit is a compound fruit, sweet, spiky and yellow to brown in colour. It is eaten fresh, fried with flour, or made into a type of pudding. When unripe, it can be cooked as vegetable or added into soups. Ripe seeds can be roasted or boiled. Young leaves are cooked and consumed as vegetable. The bark yields a fibre that is used in making ropes. A resin can also be obtained from the tree and it is used as a varnishing material. The tree is a good fuel source and is often used as a construction material. Other Names: Bangkong, Banturung manuk, Baroh, Beluno, Bukoh, Campedek, Champada, Chubadak, Kakan, Mangkahai, Nakan, Nangka berit, Nangka tjomedak, Pulutan, Sempedak, Sonekadot, Temedak, Tibadak, Tibudak.

Artocarpus integer is an evergreen Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects, wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 20

Where it is found

A common, sub-canopy tree in secondary forests and locally abundant in primary lowland rainforest, often on wet hillsides in Thailand. Usually found at elevations up to 450 metres, occasionally to 1,200 metres.

Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

Found In: Asia, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Burma, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pacific, Papua, Philippines, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, Thailand.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Edible portion: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves. Fruit - raw or cooked. The pulp of the ripe fruit is golden-yellow, it is rather slimy and strongly odoriferous, almost like that of the durian. The flavour is sweet, resembling durian and mango. It is eaten fresh, fried with flour, or made into a type of pudding. The unripe fruit is used as a cooked vegetable or is added to soups. The fruit is up to 9cm long. The almost globose fruit is 20 - 35cm long x 10 - 15cm wide. Each fruit can weigh from 600 - 3,500g. Ripe seeds - roasted or boiled and eaten as a delicacy. Rich in starch, they have a nutty flavour. Young leaves - cooked and used as a vegetable.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 3

Other uses rating: Medium (3/5). Agroforestry Uses: The tree is well suited for reforestation projects in association with other species. Other Uses A fibre obtained from the bark can be used to make rope. A resin obtained from the tree is used as a varnishing material. The latex obtained from the plant has no value. It can be used for making lime. The bark contains tannin. With alum, the extract of heartwood provides a yellow dye that is moderately fast on silk. This dye is used in colouring the saffron-coloured robes of Buddhists. The dark yellow to brown wood is strong and durable and is used for building construction, furniture and boats. Sold under the trade name jack, is as strong as teak (Tectona grandis), takes a good polish, saws and works easily, and is durable under water. It is generally not attacked by fungi and termites. The tree is a good fuel wood; the calorific value of moisture-free heartwood is 5369 kcal/kg of wood.

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.

Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.

Varnish: Plants that can be used as a varnish without any special treatment. Does not include varnishes made from oils etc.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Industrial Crop: Hydrocarbon: Materials, chemicals and energy include bioplastics, rubber, biomass products gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, butane, propane, biogas. Plants are usually resprouting plants and saps.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Balanced carb: (0-15 percent protein, 0-15 percent oil, with at least one over 5 percent). The carbohydrates are from either starch or sugar. Annuals include maize, wheat, rice, and potato. Perennials include chestnuts, carob, perennial fruits, nuts, cereals, pseudocereals, woody pods, and acorns.

Staple Crop: Basic Starch: The Carbon Farming Solution. Eric Toensmeier.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Staple Crop: Basic Starch: The Carbon Farming Solution. Eric Toensmeier.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of the lowland humid tropics, growing best at an altitude below 1,200 metres , in its native range it is always restricted to regions without a distinct dry season. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 38c, but can tolerate 16 - 47c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,200 - 3,500mm, but tolerates 1,250 - 4,500mm. Prefers a deep, well-drained fertile soil. Young plants need some shade, but need increasing light levels as they mature . Prefers a fairly high water table, it can survive periodic flooding even with acid swamp water. Prefers a pH in the range 4.5 - 6, tolerating 4 - 6.5. The tree usually fruits prolifically and is capable of very high yields . Seedlings start bearing fruit after 3 - 6 years; clonal trees bear after 2 - 4 years. Flowers may be found at any time of year, but bloom is concentrated around one period of the year. Female flower heads are found only on cauliflorous shoots; most male heads are formed on shoots in the periphery of the canopy. This may facilitate pollination by wind, although the pollen is sticky. Insects visit the scented male inflorescence, not the female ones, which lack nectar .

Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates best at a temperature of 24 - 27c. It can be raised by direct sowing or planting nursery-raised container seedlings. Fresh seeds record germination rates of about 75%. Root cuttings. Air layering.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 11-12

Growth: Slow

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Champedak or Artocarpus integer. Other Names: Bangkong, Banturung manuk, Baroh, Beluno, Bukoh, Campedek, Champada, Chubadak, Kakan, Mangkahai, Nakan, Nangka berit, Nangka tjomedak, Pulutan, Sempedak, Sonekadot, Temedak, Tibadak, Tibudak.

Synonyms

Artocarpus champeden (Lour.) Stokes. Artocarpus integrifolia L.f. Artocarpus polyphema Persoon. Poly

Champedak Artocarpus integer