ANTIPOLO TREE here in Philippines is a genus of some 60 trees of Southeast Asian origin, belong to the family Moraceae (-often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, there is a cosmopolitan distribution overall.). The word Artocarpus is derived from the Greek words artos (bread) and karpos (fruit). It is said Antipolo City, the capital of Rizal, derived its name from the Antipolo tree, at a time when the tree grew in abundance locally.
CHARACTERISTICS:
Antipolo is a medium sized to a large tree up to 90
centimeters in diameter and 30 meters to 40 meters in height with cylindrical bole and prominent buttress. The outer bark of an Antipolo tree is grayish-black; its inner bark exudes white latex.
Leaves are simple, spirally arranged, with one to
three pairs of lobes. The hairy petioles are about eight centimeters long while the long hairy stipules are about 10 centimeters long. The flowers are minute in separate male and female axillary inflorescences. The male ones are yellowish, oblong, cylindrical, and spongy, while the female ones are spherical in shape. The fruit is about 6.5 centimeters in diameter, with flexuous, tapering, obtuse process (spine-like structure), ripening to yellow and orange-brown. Seeds are embedded in the fleshy part of the fruit. Sapwood light buff, distinct from the heartwood which is bright yellow when fresh, turning russet upon exposure; grain crossed; texture moderately coarse to coarse; glossy; odor and taste not characteristic; comparatively light to comparatively heavy. Growth rings entirely absent; wood very homogenous. Vessels isolated in groups, those in groups mostly in pairs and seldom in threes; diffuse; majority touch the rays on only one side, some on both sides; separated from fibers by a narrow ring of parenchyma. Occasional tyloses present. Fibers moderately dense. Antipolo is endemic (-is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere.) to the Philippines, particularly in Bataan Island, Luzon, Palawan, Negros, and Mindanao, and in lowland forests and thickets. It can also be found in areas with distinct dry season and annual rainfall of 2,000 millimeters or more. Although rather common on Mount Makiling, the tree is very widely distributed throughout the archipelago. It is also common in low and medium altitudes, but not abundant. It is seldom cut for timber. This wood has a density of 0.43.
USES:
The wood of an Antipolo tree is locally used for light
construction. Bark extract is said to have antimicrobial activity. Fruits and seeds are cooked and eaten. It is also used as a fiber plant for the production of pulp and paper. This wood is used for house posts and other purposes requiring durability; for paneling, furniture and cabinet work, and musical instruments as a substitute for Nangka; and for making bancas. The bark of this tree is retted and used by highland folks for making clothes.