1596

2: Edible fruits and nuts

Bertholletia exelsa Humb. & Bonpl.

LECYTHIDACEAE

Bertholletia nobilis Miers.

Brazil nut, para nut (En). Noyer du Brésil (Fr).

Grows wild in the Amazon forest. Occasionally planted in South-East Asia.

Seeds are valued as nuts. An edible oil is prepared from the seed-kernels.

Very large tree, height to 50 m, trunk diameter 1—2 m, branched only in the upper parts generally. Fruit capsule-like, globose, with thick-walled woody shell, brown, 12—15 cm in diameter, containing 12—25 seeds. Seeds angular, with brown, woody shell, 3—5 cm long. Occurs in dense lowland rain forests. Widely distributed above the flood level, sometimes in nearly pure stands. Nearly all the world's supply of over 50 000 t/year is collected from the wild. Trees start bearing 10—20 years after planting.

[10]Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2nd ed. 2 Volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.
[26]Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd ed. 3 Volumes. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch Indië. 1953 pp.
[28]Howes, F.N., 1948. Nuts. Their production and everyday use. Faber & Faber, London. 264 pp.
[66]Purseglove, J.W., 1975. Tropical Crops. Dicotyledons 1 & 2. Longmans Green & Co., London. 719 pp.

P.C.M. Jansen, J. Jukema, L.P.A. Oyen, T.G. van Lingen

Jansen, P.C.M., Jukema, J., Oyen, L.P.A. & van Lingen, T.G., 1991. Bertholletia exelsa Humb. & Bonpl.. In: Verheij, E.W.M. and Coronel, R.E. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 2: Edible fruits and nuts. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea