08.06.08
What I thought was a Breadfruit isn’t really a Breadfruit…
It’s a Monstera Deliciosa and Monstera Deliciosa, also called the Mexican Breadfruit or Swiss Cheese Plant. Here I was so excited to tell you about our Breadfruit tree. Turns out it’s a philodendron, and the fruit takes a year to ripen.
Two years ago, Daniel and I went grocery shopping at the local Whole Foods store. He was looking for Breadfruit. I’d never seen a Breadfruit before, but I’d heard the name mentioned. He selected a fruit that looked like an ear of corn to me, covered with hexagons. I took his word for it, because the sign said “Breadfruit”, and the price was around $4.00. I commented it must be an exceptional piece of fruit. He assured me it was.
The fruit took days to ripen, almost a week. Each day he pealed off a little of the outer “husk” which revealed a pale yellow, almost white fruit made of kernels that looked like, you guessed it, corn. He relished this fruit, and it lasted about a week because it ripened in sections. It seemed to be a lot of work for so little each day but he was happy so I was happy. I did try it and it tasted like a cross between pineapple and banana.
Well to make a long story longer, Daniel planted a few of the kernels in a flower pot. Don-cha-know-it, one of the kernels sprouted. We’ve been babying this plant since that day, and it now has five leaves, each leaf larger than the one that developed before it. The most recent leaf emerged very quickly this past weekend. We’ve had the plant on the porch since Daniel repotted it this spring, and within a week it just took off. I’ve been expecting a tree, but it looks more like a vine that is very similar to a Pothos without the variegation. At the rate it’s growing, I hope to still be alive when it finally decides to bear fruit.
I discovered the true identity of the plant just after I began to write this blog entry. I performed several web searches for information on whether a Breadfruit grows like a tree or vine. After thirty minutes I couldn’t find any Breadfruit that looked like the one Daniel bought so I tried “banana looking fruit”. Within five minutes, I had my answer. Daniel’s asleep right now. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about this.
O.P.W.