Brazil nut

Brazil nut
the three-sided, hard-shelled edible seed of the tree Bertholletia excelsa and related species, of South America.
[1820-30]

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Edible seed of a large South American tree, Bertholletia excelsa (family Lecythidaceae), and one of the major commercially traded nuts in the world.

The hard-walled fruit, resembling a large coconut, contains 8–24 nuts (seeds) arranged in it like sections of an orange. Each nut has a very hard shell and is three-sided in shape. Brazil nuts are high in fat and protein and taste somewhat like almond or coconut. The tree grows wild in stands in the Amazon River basin, reaching heights of 150 ft (45 m) or more.

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nut
also called  Para nut,  butternut,  cream nut , or  castanea 
 edible seed of a large South American tree (Bertholletia excelsa) found in the Amazonian forests of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. The Brazil nut is particularly well known in the Brazilian state of Pará, where it is called castanha-do-pará (Pará nut) and is grown as one of the major commercially traded nuts in the world. The tree itself grows wild in stands in the Amazon River basin, where it will often tower over its neighbours, reaching heights of 49 metres (160 feet) or more, with its crown spreading over 30 metres (100 feet) in diameter. The buttressed trunk is usually less than 2 metres (6.6 feet) across, but 3-metre (10-foot) specimens have been observed. Brazil nuts cannot, however, be cultivated in pure stands because of the tree's complex ecological requirements. (See rainforest ecosystem sidebar, “.”)

      The hard-walled fruits of the tree are spherical pods, 8–18 cm (3–7 inches) in diameter, that resemble large coconuts hanging at the ends of the tree's thick branches. A typical 15-cm (6-inch) pod can weigh up to 2.7 kg (5 pounds), and a mature tree will produce more than 300 pods. From January to June the pods ripen and fall to the ground, where they can be harvested.

      The woody pod contains 12–24 nuts, or seeds, that are arranged like the sections of an orange. The seeds are taken out, dried in the sun, then washed and exported while still in the shell. The brown shell is very hard and has three sides. High in fat and protein, the whitish meat tastes somewhat like almond or coconut and is so rich in oil that Brazil nuts will burn like a candle when lit.

      The oil is often used in shampoos, soaps, hair conditioners, and skin care products. The sweet nuts are an important source of protein and calories for tribal, rural, and even urban Brazilians. Amazonians also use the empty pods as containers and brew the bark to treat liver ailments.

      The Brazil nut tree belongs to the plant family Lecythidaceae, as do other tropical trees valued for their fruit and nuts (see cannonball tree, anchovy pear, and monkey pot).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Brazil nut — Conservation status Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3) …   Wikipedia

  • Brazil nut — Bra*zil nut (br[.a]*z[i^]l n[u^]t ). (Bot.) An oily, three sided nut, the seed of the {Bertholletia excelsa}; the cream nut. [1913 Webster] Note: From eighteen to twenty four of the seeds or nuts grow in a hard and nearly globular shell. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • brazil nut — ► NOUN ▪ the large three sided nut of a South American forest tree …   English terms dictionary

  • Brazil nut — Brazil′ nut n. 1) pln the three sided, hard shelled edible seed of a large South American tree, Bertholletia excelsa, of the lecythis family 2) pln the tree itself • Etymology: 1820–30 …   From formal English to slang

  • Brazil nut — n. 1. a gigantic (30 45 m or 100 150 ft) South American tree (Bertholletia excelsa) of the lecythis family, which bears hard shelled, triangular, oily, edible seeds that grow in large, round, hard shelled fruits 2. this seed …   English World dictionary

  • brazil nut — noun 1. tall South American tree bearing brazil nuts • Syn: ↑brazil nut tree, ↑Bertholletia excelsa • Hypernyms: ↑nut tree • Member Holonyms: ↑Bertholletia, ↑genus Bertholletia …   Useful english dictionary

  • brazil nut — UK [brəˈzɪl ˌnʌt] / US noun [countable] Word forms brazil nut : singular brazil nut plural brazil nuts a large curved nut that has a hard shell with three sides …   English dictionary

  • Brazil nut effect — The Brazil nut effect is the name given to a phenomenon in which the largest particles end up on the surface when a granular material containing a mixture of objects of different sizes is shaken. In a typical container of mixed nuts, the largest… …   Wikipedia

  • brazil-nut tree — noun tall South American tree bearing brazil nuts • Syn: ↑brazil nut, ↑Bertholletia excelsa • Hypernyms: ↑nut tree • Member Holonyms: ↑Bertholletia, ↑genus Bertholletia …   Useful english dictionary

  • brazil nut — /brəˈzɪl nʌt / (say bruh zil nut) noun the triangular edible seed (nut) of the tree Bertholletia excelsa and related species, of Brazil and elsewhere …  

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