36 



The enumeration of the native names given to the seedless 

 breadfruit indicates the geographic distribution of the species;* 

 its home is the Indo-Malaysian region, Hke that of many other 

 members of the genus, but it has been widely disseminated 

 throughout the tropics. The Polynesian race took this valuable 

 food-plant with them in their extensive migrations in the Pacific, 

 and established it in all their island groups that possessed the 

 climatic conditions requisite for its growth. New Zealand, the 

 home of the Maoris, proved inhospitable to the breadfruit, and the 

 natives failed to establish it there. The Hawaiian Archipelago, 

 the northernmost boundary of Polynesia, was more favorable, 

 but the tree never attained the importance in the dietary of the 

 primitive Hawaiians which it held in the warmer islands to the 

 south. It is noteworthy that whereas over twenty varieties were 

 known by distinctive names to the inhabitants of Tahiti, Samoa, 

 and Fiji, and twenty-five varieties were cultivated in the Caroline 

 Islands, the Hawaiian had but a single variety. There are, of 

 course, numerous variations in the Hawaiian breadfruit, but 

 these are not comparable to the clearly defined varieties of 

 southern Polynesia. Nor was the paucity due to any lack of 

 horticultural ability on the part of the natives, for the Hawaiians 

 were more skilful in their cultural processes than were their 

 southern kinsfolk, and their other food-plants show large series 

 of designated varieties. 



The breadfruit in Hawaii is thus at the northern limit of its 

 Oceanic range, and does not reach the stature or productiveness 

 of the southern forms. The ecologic requirements for its maxi- 

 mum development apparently comprise the following: a warm, 

 humid climate throughout the year, copious precipitation; moist 

 fertile soil, and thorough drainage. The absence of any one of 

 these conditions is a serious detriment to the normal growth of 

 the plant, or may wholly prevent its fruiting. It is scarcely 

 tolerant of shade, and in Hawaii large trees are almost invariably 

 found growing in the open. 



Mention may be made here of the famous adventures connected 

 with the introduction of the breadfruit into the West Indies. 



* Fossil specimens are reported from California, Colorado, and Greenland. 



