Editing Breadfruit (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Extent of the [[Austronesian expansion]] that carried crops like breadfruit, bananas, and [[coconut]]s throughout the [[Indo-Pacific]] islands]]

Breadfruit is an equatorial lowland species. It has been spread from its Pacific source to many tropical regions.<ref name="Matisoo-Smith2015" /><ref name="morton" />

In 1769, [[Joseph Banks]] was stationed in [[Tahiti]] as part of the {{HMS|Endeavour||2}} expedition commanded by [[Captain James Cook]].<ref name="kew" /><ref name="Anne">{{cite book |last1=Salmond |first1=Anne |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Kad7vgAACAAJ|page=190}} |title=Aphrodite's Island |date=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520261143 |location=Berkeley |pages=190, 197, 307–308}}</ref> The late-18th-century quest for cheap, high-energy food sources for [[slaves]] in British colonies prompted colonial administrators and plantation owners to call for breadfruit to be brought to the [[Caribbean]]. As president of the [[Royal Society]], Banks provided a cash bounty and gold medal for success in this endeavor, and successfully lobbied for a British Naval expedition. After an unsuccessful voyage to the South Pacific to collect the plants as commander of {{HMS|Bounty}}, in 1791, [[William Bligh]] commanded a second expedition with {{HMS|Providence|1791|2}} and {{HMS|Assistant||2}}, which collected [[seedless]] breadfruit plants in Tahiti and transported these to [[St. Helena]] in the Atlantic and [[Saint Vincent (Antilles)|St.&nbsp;Vincent]] and [[Jamaica]] in the West Indies.<ref name="ntbg" /><ref name="kew" />

The plant grows best below elevations of {{convert|650|m|ft|abbr=on}}, but is found at elevations of {{convert|1550|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Preferred soils are neutral to [[alkali]]ne ([[Soil pH|pH]] of 6.1&ndash;7.4) and either sand, sandy loam, loam or sandy clay [[loam]]. Breadfruit is able to grow in [[coral sand]]s and [[Soil salinity|saline soils]]. The breadfruit is ultra-tropical, requiring a temperature range of {{convert|16|-|38|C}} and an annual rainfall of {{Convert|2000-2500|mm|abbr=off|round=5}}.<ref name="morton" />