Andrea Owensby, age 11, of Arden, N. C.,

What is a breadfruit tree?

Imagine being able to gather a loaf of bread from a tree. What's more, if you had a variety of these trees in your garden, they would yield their fruit in turn. You could gather bread all year round. Actually the fruit of the breadfruit tree is not in neatly sliced and packaged loaves. But it does have a crusty rind and the mealy pulp is very much like soft new bread.

Where in the world does this baker tree grow? On the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean, both north and south of the equator, there are 40 varieties of the breadfruit tree. Some bring forth their fruit in January, some in July and others in all the months between. The tree itself is tall and stately. The sturdy trunk often stands bare and straight for 30 feet, then puts out wide, spreading branches. The huge, shiny leaves of lush evergreen are often a foot long. The breadfruit tree likes a warm, wet climate where the soil is well drained. It is grown from cuttings and. some have grown successfully in the climate of the Florida Keys.

The fruit grows from short stubby stems, singly or in clusters of two or three. The baby fruit is a round, green bumpy ball. As it grows it turns brown. When ripe, the breadfruit is as big as your head and yellow in color. The rind is bumpy, rough and tough. The pulpy bread is inside around the core.

The breadfruit tastes best after baking or being dried in the sun. It is sometimes mixed with coconut milk to make a delicious, starchy pudding. The islanders also out the almost ripe pulp into thin slices and roast it on hot stones.

Another recipe calls for roasting the breadfruit whole, The almost:. ripened fruits are placed in a deep pit of hot ashes, Breadfruit can also be stored. Baked slices may be buried and. allowed to ferment. The baked slices may also be pounded into flour and stored for several weeks. On the Pacific Islands, the people depend on breadfruit for their starchy foods, much as we depend upon our cereal grains.

The usefulness of the breadfruit tree does not stop with its fruit. The tall trunk stands from 40 to 64 feet high and the wood is of a fine quality, When properly seasoned, it is very like hard, fine grained mahogany. The islanders use this hardwood to make boats and some of it is used in the making of fine furniture. Under the outer bark of the tree there is a padding of stringy, fibrous tissue. This is used in the making of cloth,