Lecythis pisonis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Lecythidaceae |
Genus: | Lecythis |
Species: | L. pisonis |
Binomial name | |
Lecythis pisonis Cambess. (1833) | |
Lecythis pisonis, the cream nut or monkey pot, is a tropical tree in the Brazil nut family Lecythidaceae. [1] It is known in its native tropical America as sapucaia or castanha-de-sapucaia. The fruit is shaped like a cooking pot and contains edible seeds.
Lecythis pisonis is a large, deciduous, dome shaped-tree with a dense leafy crown. It grows to a height of about 30 metres (98 ft). The trunk has ascending branches and much fissured, greyish bark. The leaves are pink as they unfurl but become mid-green with dark speckles later. They are leathery, oblong-elliptic with prominent midribs and toothed margins. The flowers form in racemes on the ends of the twigs in September and October. They are purple (occasionally white) with six petals and a central boss of golden stamens and are attractive to bees. [2] The fruits are globose or oblong, cinnamon-coloured and woody, being 6 to 15 cm (2.4 to 5.9 in) long and 8.5 to 30 cm (3.3 to 11.8 in) wide. They have a rough pericarp up to 3 cm (1.2 in) thick and a tight-fitting lid that bursts open when they mature. The seeds are red or brown, elliptical and up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long. [3] They take 11 to 12 months to ripen. [4]
Lecythis pisonis grows in the rainforest in north and eastern tropical America particularly in Brazil. [2]
Lecythis pisonis is grown as an ornamental tree with new pink growth and purple flowers at certain times of year. The nuts are edible both raw and cooked. Research has shown that the lipid content is similar to that of corn oil but a high level of certain heavy metals might be toxic and may limit their use as food. [5] They are also eaten by animals and the name "monkey pot" comes from the old proverb "a wise old monkey doesn't stick its hand into a pot". [4] This refers to the fact that a young monkey may plunge its hand into the container and not be able to withdraw the fistful of nuts whereas an experienced individual will remove the nuts singly. [4]
The cashew tree is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus Anacardium that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as 14 metres, but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew seed is commonly considered a snack nut eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. Like the tree, the nut is often simply called a cashew. Cashew allergies are triggered by the proteins found in tree nuts, and cooking often does not remove or change these proteins.
The Brazil nut is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. The fruit and its nutshell – containing the edible Brazil nut – are relatively large, possibly weighing as much as 2 kg (4.4 lb) in total weight. As food, Brazil nuts are notable for diverse content of micronutrients, especially a high amount of selenium. The wood of the Brazil nut tree is prized for its quality in carpentry, flooring, and heavy construction.
Syzygium samarangense is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to an area that includes the Greater Sunda Islands, Malay Peninsula, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but introduced in prehistoric times to a wider area and now widely cultivated in the tropics. Common names in English include wax apple, Java apple, Semarang rose-apple, and wax jambu.
Canarium ovatum, the pili, is a species of tropical tree belonging to the genus Canarium. It is one of approximately 600 species in the family Burseraceae. C. ovatum are native to the Philippines. They are commercially cultivated in the Philippines for their edible nuts and is believed to be indigenous to that country. The fruit and tree are often vulgarized with the umbrella term of "Java almond" which mixes multiple species of the same genus, Canarium.
Pachira aquatica is a tropical wetland tree in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by its common names Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Guiana chestnut, Provision tree, Saba nut, Monguba (Brazil), Pumpo (Guatemala) and is commercially sold under the names Money tree and Money plant. This tree is sometimes sold with a braided trunk and is commonly grown as a houseplant, although more commonly what is sold as a "Pachira aquatica" houseplant is in fact a similar species, P. glabra.
Caryocar nuciferum, the butter-nut of Guiana, is also known as pekea-nut, or – like all other species of Caryocar with edible nuts – "souari-nut" or "sawarri-nut". It is a fruit tree native to northern Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Panama, and Venezuela.
Lecythis is a genus of woody plant in the Lecythidaceae family first described as a genus in 1758. It is native to Central America and South America. Several species produce edible seeds and referred to by a variety of common names including paradise nut, monkey pot, cream nut, and sapucaia nut.
Lecythis ollaria is a species of tree found growing in forests in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. The tree is known locally as coco de mono, and accumulates selenium in its tissues.
Brownea grandiceps is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae. Its common names include the rose of Venezuela and the scarlet flame bean. It originated in South America but is now widely grown as a decorative tree in tropical gardens.
Lecythis zabucajo, the sapucaia or paradise nut, is a large nut-producing tree occurring in the Guianas, Suriname, Venezuela, Ecuador, Honduras and Brazil, and which distribution range is much the same as that of the greater spear-nosed bat. Although not singling out Lecythis zabucajo, Jacques Huber noted in 1909 that fruit bats played the most important role in seed dispersal in Amazonian forests. The quality of its nuts led to the species' being introduced to numerous tropical countries, notably Trinidad, where it has flourished. The nuts are a valuable food resource and yield oil suitable for cooking and domestic use.
Anacardium othonianum is a tree native from the tropical savanna (cerrado) region of Brazil, whose fruit is similar to that of the common cashew tree of the Brazilian Northeast. It is locally known by the Tupi-derived name cajuí, and by the Portuguese names caju-de-árvore-do-cerrado, caju-vermelho-de-goiás, cajuzinho-do-cerrado or just cajuzinho.
Lecythis ampla is a species of woody plant in the family Lecythidaceae, which also includes the Brazil nut. Common names include coco, olla de mono, jicaro and salero. It is found in Central and South America. It has been considered an endangered species in Costa Rica.
Phulwara oil is extracted from seeds of Phulwara tree. Phulwara Trees are also known locally as Chiuri Trees, Kaeleb Trees, or Butter Nut Trees. Refined Phulwara Oil is marketed as Phulwara Ghee.
Cream nut is a common name for several trees from the tropical Americas which produce edible nuts, and may refer to:
Sapucaia may refer to:
Cola nitida is a species of plant belonging to the family Malvaceae.
Lecythis minor, the monkey-pot tree, is a small tree with toxic seeds that occurs in South America.
Lancetilla Botanical Garden is a botanical garden and significant tourist attraction located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, in the north of the Republic of Honduras, about 7 km southeast of the city of Tela.
Canarium indicum, known as galip nut, is a mainly dioecious tree native in eastern Melanesia. It is usually found in rainforests, secondary forests, old garden areas, around villages and settlements. It is also used as a shade tree, as a windbreak and in agroforestry. Canarium is important in the world food system as it can be used as a food and timber source, in traditional medicine, intercropping and agroforestry.