MARANG IN CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Artocarpus odoratissimus
FAMILY: Moraceae
The Marang, a member of Moraceae Family, related to the Jackfruit, is one tree that has surprised many people in respect to its adaptability to cooler climates.
This species is a handsome, medium-size tree to 25 metres with a trunk diameter of about 40cm. The leaves are large, rough, light green, about 45 - 60cm long and about 25 - 30cm broad and more or less trilobate. The fruit is very large, averaging about 15cm long and 13cm in diameter, weighing in at 1 - 1.5kg. It is roundish-oblong, regular, thickly studded with short, brittle greenish-yellow spines. The rind is thick and fleshy. The flesh is snow white, very sweet, rich, juicy, very aromatic and of excellent flavour. It is separated into segments, with each segment containing a seed.
There are two trees that I have seen in the Central Queensland region; both over 6m high, with one already flowering at Cawarral. The Cawarral tree was planted in Spring 1983 on a north-easterly slope with red, rocky soil, in a very low-humidity area. The natural scrub provides a windbreak, and the tree has had very little attention apart from a little irrigation and nutrients added. Although I noticed the flowers in 1987, I have not been able to ascertain whether or not fruit has formed.
The second large tree at Byfield was planted some 5 years ago and has yet to flower. Two seedlings were planted only 3m apart; one went through winter well and the other suffered badly. Younger trees are showing that at least some trees have a tolerance to cold. The minimum temperature at Byfield was 3 - 4°C whereas the temperature at Cawarral must at least have been 0°C, as my place is close, and my lowest temperature in the last few years has been -2°C.
The cold damage is not the bottom temperature, but the length of time that these minimum temperatures are held at, meaning to say that a minute or two of -2 or -3°C then rising is probably not as damaging as 2 or 3 hours of 0°C. So if you have little or no frost, maybe a Marang or two could be worth contemplating.
DATE: September 1988
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