RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — There had long been stories of the world’s largest tree-borne fruit divebombing passersby. It was urban legend no more after one struck a cyclist, and that was potential trouble for Marisa Furtado and Pedro Lobão, a couple who have taken up the challenge of rehabilitating the fruit’s public image. Ecologists consider jackfruit an invasive species, and it’s abundant during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, but many Brazilians are loath to eat it. Furtado set out to convince cyclists of the gargantuan fruit’s potential benefits, and enlist their support for how its dealt with in the park.
