Brazil nut

Where does Brazil nut grow?

Found in: Africa, Amazon, Asia, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Ghana, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Malaysia, Peru, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela, West Africa

Notes: There is only one Bertholettia species. Nuts have a high level of selenium. They are also high in sulphur containing amino acids. Selenium is helpful in preventing cancer. The charcoal from Brazil nut shells is good at purifying water.

Growing Brazil nut

Cultivation: The flowers are self sterile so a group of trees need to be planted near each other. Plants are grown from seed, cuttings or grafts. The seeds need to have the hard shell broken to help them to germinate. Seeds can only be stored for about 4-5 months. Because of the hard seed coat, seed may take 6-16 months to germinate. Treating seed by removing the seed coat and treating with phenyl mercuric acetate allows seeds to germinate in 3 months. Early germination can also be achieved by putting the nuts into sand a container with moist sand and storing it in a dry shady place for 6 months then removing the hard shell and planting the seeds.

Edible Uses: The nuts can be eaten raw or roasted. They are also salted and are used in ice cream. They are also sometimes grated with the stilt roots of Socratea palms and added to cassava flour. An oil can be extracted from the seeds.

Production: Trees grow very slowly. They begin producing nuts 8-10 years after planting. The fruit take over one year (14-15 months) to ripen. One tree can produce 300 or more pods per year. One fruit can weigh 2.2 kg. The nuts are harvested when the fruit fall to the ground.

Nutrition Info

Brazil nut Photos

References

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