Caryocar.

Caryocar amygdaliferum Cav. Ternstroemiaceae. Caryocar.

A high tree in Ecuador. The kernel of the nut is edible and has the taste of almonds. This is the almendron of Mariquita. "The nuts are fine."

Caryocar amygdaliforme Ruiz & Pav.

Peru. The tree bears nuts that taste like almonds.

Caryocar brasiliense St. Hil. Piquia-Oil Plant.

Brazil. This species bears an oily, mucilaginous fruit, containing a sort of chestnut eaten in times of famine. This is perhaps the Acantacaryx pinguis Arruda, a large tree that produces most abundantly a fruit the size of an orange, of which the pulp is oily, feculous and nourishing. It is the delight of the inhabitants of Ceara and Piauhy and is called piqui.

Caryocar butyrosum Willd.

Guiana. This plant is cultivated for its nuts in Cayenne. These are esculent and taste somewhat like a Brazil nut. It is called pekea by the natives of Guiana. It furnishes a timber valuable for shipbuilding.

Caryocar glabrum Pers.

Guiana. It furnishes edible nuts. It is sometimes cultivated, and the trees are much used in shipbuilding and for other purposes. The natives make much use of the nuts.

Caryocar nuciferum Linn. Butternut.

A lofty tree of British Guiana which produces the souari or butternut of the English markets. These nuts are shaped something like a kidney flattened upon two sides and have an exceedingly hard, woody shell of a rich, reddish-brown color, covered all over with round wart-like protuberances, which encloses a large, white kernel of a pleasant, nutty taste yielding a bland oil by pressure.

Caryocar tomentosum Willd. Butternut.

Guiana. The plant bears a sweet and edible nut.


Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.