Monographs Details:
Authority:
Mori, S. A. & Prance, Ghillean T. 1990. Lecythidaceae - Part II: The zygomorphic-flowered New World genera (Couroupita, Corythophora, Bertholletia, Couratari, Eschweilera, & Lecythis). With a study of secondary xylem of Neotropical Lecythidaceae by Carl de Zeeuw. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-376. (Published by NYBG Press)
Mori, S. A. & Prance, Ghillean T. 1990. Lecythidaceae - Part II: The zygomorphic-flowered New World genera (Couroupita, Corythophora, Bertholletia, Couratari, Eschweilera, & Lecythis). With a study of secondary xylem of Neotropical Lecythidaceae by Carl de Zeeuw. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 21: 1-376. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:
Lecythidaceae
Lecythidaceae
Synonyms:
Barthollesia excelsa Silva Manso, Bertholletia nobilis Miers
Barthollesia excelsa Silva Manso, Bertholletia nobilis Miers
Description:
Description - Large trees, to 50 m tall, unbuttressed, the young branches glabrous, sparingly lenticellate. Bark with conspicuous longitudinal fissures. Leaves deciduous, the blades oblong, 17-36 x 6.5-15.5 cm, coriaceous, glabrous on both surfaces, longitudinally striate, papillate abaxially, the midrib prominulous above, prominent beneath, with 29-45 pairs of lateral veins, prominulous on both surfaces; apex apiculate to mucronate, the acumen 3-10 mm long; base rounded to subcuneate; margins entire or slightly crenulate, undulate; petiole 20-35 mm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous when young, slightly winged. Inflorescence of axillary spikes or of terminal, paniculate arrangements of spikes with one, infrequently two, orders of branching, the former with 2-7 lateral branches, the rachises angular and sulcate, sparsely puberulous, the bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, early caducous, sparsely puberulous on exterior; pedicels short and thick, to 1 mm long. Flowers ca. 3 cm diam. at anthesis; calyx with two lobes, these closed in bud, the lobes oblong-ovate, navicular, 8-14 mm long, puberulous on exterior, often obscurely 3-dentate at apex; petals six, pale yellow to white, oblong-ovate, to 30 mm long, sparsely puberulous on exterior; androecial hood white to yellow, the appendages often brighter yellow, the inside of hood with depression into which fits the staminal ring, the inside of ligule often tinged with pink, the appendages swept inwards but not forming coil; staminal ring asymmetrical, with 80-135 stamens, the filaments 2.5-3 mm long, swollen and geniculate towards apex, white, the anthers 1 mm long, golden-yellow; hypanthium 3-5 mm long, puberulous; ovary (3-)4(-6) locular, the 16-25 ovules inserted at base of septum; style geniculate, of two lengths, either ca. 8 mm long, and exserted beyond stamens or less frequently ca. 4 mm long and shorter or equalling stamens in length. Fruits round, usually 10-12.5 x 10-12.5 cm but up to 16 x 14 cm, often of varied shape and size even within same tree. Seeds 10-25 per fruit, ca. 3.5-5 x 2 cm. X = 17 (once reported as 18, Sanjappa, 1979).
Description - Large trees, to 50 m tall, unbuttressed, the young branches glabrous, sparingly lenticellate. Bark with conspicuous longitudinal fissures. Leaves deciduous, the blades oblong, 17-36 x 6.5-15.5 cm, coriaceous, glabrous on both surfaces, longitudinally striate, papillate abaxially, the midrib prominulous above, prominent beneath, with 29-45 pairs of lateral veins, prominulous on both surfaces; apex apiculate to mucronate, the acumen 3-10 mm long; base rounded to subcuneate; margins entire or slightly crenulate, undulate; petiole 20-35 mm long, glabrous or sparsely puberulous when young, slightly winged. Inflorescence of axillary spikes or of terminal, paniculate arrangements of spikes with one, infrequently two, orders of branching, the former with 2-7 lateral branches, the rachises angular and sulcate, sparsely puberulous, the bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, early caducous, sparsely puberulous on exterior; pedicels short and thick, to 1 mm long. Flowers ca. 3 cm diam. at anthesis; calyx with two lobes, these closed in bud, the lobes oblong-ovate, navicular, 8-14 mm long, puberulous on exterior, often obscurely 3-dentate at apex; petals six, pale yellow to white, oblong-ovate, to 30 mm long, sparsely puberulous on exterior; androecial hood white to yellow, the appendages often brighter yellow, the inside of hood with depression into which fits the staminal ring, the inside of ligule often tinged with pink, the appendages swept inwards but not forming coil; staminal ring asymmetrical, with 80-135 stamens, the filaments 2.5-3 mm long, swollen and geniculate towards apex, white, the anthers 1 mm long, golden-yellow; hypanthium 3-5 mm long, puberulous; ovary (3-)4(-6) locular, the 16-25 ovules inserted at base of septum; style geniculate, of two lengths, either ca. 8 mm long, and exserted beyond stamens or less frequently ca. 4 mm long and shorter or equalling stamens in length. Fruits round, usually 10-12.5 x 10-12.5 cm but up to 16 x 14 cm, often of varied shape and size even within same tree. Seeds 10-25 per fruit, ca. 3.5-5 x 2 cm. X = 17 (once reported as 18, Sanjappa, 1979).
Discussion:
This plant provides the well-known Brazil nut which is harvested mainly from wild trees for exportation to North America and Europe. It is one of the most important trees in the economy of the Amazon forest. The wood is also excellent, but is little used because of the value of the tree as a seed producer. The seeds are also used locally as food, and as a source of cooking oil (Mori & Prance, 1989; Prance & Mori, 1979). The woody shell or Pyxidium surrounding the seeds has been put to many uses. It is often used as a fuel and is one of the preferred sources of smoke for coagulating rubber. It is cut and polished in many ways by local craftsmen to make ashtrays, jewelry cases, vessels of many sorts, candle holders, and ornaments, and it is used by many tribes of Indians either as a container or as a mortar in which they pulverize snuff or flour.Although B. excelsa was originally described by Humboldt from a collection ascribed to Venezuela, until recently no other collections from Venezuela existed, and there are still only the few cited above. The plant is in fact quite common in the upper Orinoco region. Smole (1976: 163) notes that the Brazil nut is collected by the Yanomamo Indians, and that the trees are quite common in the lowland part of their territory at altitudes under 3000 feet. The Humboldt and Bonpland type specimen is labeled ‘Orinoco,’ from which one would assume that it was collected in Venezuela. However, in the protologue the authors clearly state that the plant they described was from Brazil “La plante que je viens de décrire est originaire du Brésil. M. de Humboldt et moi nous sommes assures qu’elle se trou-vait dans l’Amérique espagnole, formant des forêts sur les bords de l'Orénoque.” Since Humboldt and Bonpland did not visit Brazil this would seem to be a mystery, but it was probably solved for us unknowingly by another explorer of that region, Richard Spruce. Spruce (1908: 356) recounts how he got much information from an ancient man in San Carlos named Don Diego. Spruce recorded the following: “Don Diego is perhaps the only white now living in Canton del Río Negro who recollects Humboldt in Venezuela. ... A person died in San Fernando two or three years ago who had seen Humboldt and Bonpland at Esmeralda, and remembered the difficulty they had in procuring the flowers of juvia (Bertholletia excelsa), for which, said he, they offered an ounce of gold. At the season of fruit of this tree the Guaharibos descend much below the raudal in order to collect it for food.” Thus, although Humboldt and Bonpland never visited Brazil, they appear to have obtained at least their type collection of the Brazil nut from Brazil. On the other hand the above could mean that the type was from seed brought from Brazil and planted in Venezuela. The herbarium specimen is labelled Venezuela, and although there is some doubt we have cited it as Venezuelan.Until recently this species has been under collected because of the size of the trees, and because it is assumed to be commonly collected as is the case of many plants of economic importance. The publication of Sanchez (1973) shows that B. excelsa is abundant in the Department of Madre de Dios in Peru where it is an important part of the economy, yet only four recent collections from Peru were available for this study.Seaber (1933) showed that Brazil nuts accumulate up to 0.29 percent barium when grown on barium rich soils. Therefore, care should be taken to avoid their cultivation on barium rich soils because of the danger of barium toxicity.Because of commercial interest in the Brazil nut there has been much recent research on many aspects of Bertholletia such as pathogens, vegetative propagation, pollination, and cultivation in plantations. Much of this work has been sponsored by the Brazilian agricultural enterprise EMBRAPA and is summarized in a Bibliografia da Castanha-do-Brasil (Pereira & Costa, 1981).One of the most important recent works on Bertholletia is a study of floral biology and fruit development by Astrid Moritz (1984). This study showed that two style lengths exist. In the long-styled flowers, which are more common, the style is exserted beyond the stamens of the staminal ring, while in the short-styled flowers they are level with or lower than the stamens. This study confirmed that the flowers of the Brazil nut are visited by euglossine bees, and other studies (Nelson et al., 1987) have shown that various large bee species visit and presumably pollinate Bertholletia. Moritz showed that, although self pollination led to initial formation of seeds, no self pollinated crosses produced mature fruits, thus confirming earlier work (Muller et al., 1980) that the Brazil nut is an obligate out-crosser. Samples from six clones were crossed and there were statistically significant differences in fertility between the different crosses made. This has considerable importance for plantation use of the Brazil nut where care will have to be taken to mix clones that cross well. Grafts from a single clone, or two of low compatibility, would produce poorly. The study also showed that the number of fertilized fruit which develop can be increased by soil fertilization. The addition of nitrogen to the soil reduces the number of immature fruit that fall from the tree. Moritz gives considerable information about the clones of Brazil nut which are available at EMBRAPA, Belém.Details about the current agronomic information on the Brazil nut are summarized in Muller (1981) and Mori and Prance (1990) where seed germination, seedling morphology, grafting, cultural requirements, and productivity are all discussed. Grafting of the Brazil nut is not difficult and will facilitate the use of clonal material. No serious predations or pathogens have occurred in plantations except for attacks by leaf cutter ants.The major drawback to plantation growth of the Brazil nut is pollination. It will be necessary to grow the trees under conditions where the natural pollinators still occur. Perhaps the placement of plantations in strips within the forest will yield the best results. It is also important to avoid the loss of soil nutrients in plantations because it has now been well documented that productivity is linked to the proper balance of soil nutrients.The harvest of Brazil nuts is still primarily from wild trees, but the way is being prepared to bring this important crop into cultivation. For example, a large plantation has been established near Itacoatiara in the State of Amazonas, Brazil. Cultivation will be necessary in order to maintain a reasonable crop of the Brazil nut since deforestation is causing the loss of many areas of natural production, and because the rural nut gatherers are migrating to the ever expanding towns of Amazonia. This accounts for the reduction of the Brazilian harvest of Brazil nuts from 104,399 tons in 1970 to only 50,042 tons in 1980. This is an alarming figure considering the demand for Brazil nuts and their high nutritive value, and it is also a sad comment on the effects of Amazonian deforestation. Kitamura and Muller (1984) showed that in the major Brazil nut producing area of Marabá, in Pará, the regional production fell by 55% between 1978 and 1983 because of the felling of trees. Even the most valuable species of the rainforest are falling victim to Amazon deforestation.
This plant provides the well-known Brazil nut which is harvested mainly from wild trees for exportation to North America and Europe. It is one of the most important trees in the economy of the Amazon forest. The wood is also excellent, but is little used because of the value of the tree as a seed producer. The seeds are also used locally as food, and as a source of cooking oil (Mori & Prance, 1989; Prance & Mori, 1979). The woody shell or Pyxidium surrounding the seeds has been put to many uses. It is often used as a fuel and is one of the preferred sources of smoke for coagulating rubber. It is cut and polished in many ways by local craftsmen to make ashtrays, jewelry cases, vessels of many sorts, candle holders, and ornaments, and it is used by many tribes of Indians either as a container or as a mortar in which they pulverize snuff or flour.Although B. excelsa was originally described by Humboldt from a collection ascribed to Venezuela, until recently no other collections from Venezuela existed, and there are still only the few cited above. The plant is in fact quite common in the upper Orinoco region. Smole (1976: 163) notes that the Brazil nut is collected by the Yanomamo Indians, and that the trees are quite common in the lowland part of their territory at altitudes under 3000 feet. The Humboldt and Bonpland type specimen is labeled ‘Orinoco,’ from which one would assume that it was collected in Venezuela. However, in the protologue the authors clearly state that the plant they described was from Brazil “La plante que je viens de décrire est originaire du Brésil. M. de Humboldt et moi nous sommes assures qu’elle se trou-vait dans l’Amérique espagnole, formant des forêts sur les bords de l'Orénoque.” Since Humboldt and Bonpland did not visit Brazil this would seem to be a mystery, but it was probably solved for us unknowingly by another explorer of that region, Richard Spruce. Spruce (1908: 356) recounts how he got much information from an ancient man in San Carlos named Don Diego. Spruce recorded the following: “Don Diego is perhaps the only white now living in Canton del Río Negro who recollects Humboldt in Venezuela. ... A person died in San Fernando two or three years ago who had seen Humboldt and Bonpland at Esmeralda, and remembered the difficulty they had in procuring the flowers of juvia (Bertholletia excelsa), for which, said he, they offered an ounce of gold. At the season of fruit of this tree the Guaharibos descend much below the raudal in order to collect it for food.” Thus, although Humboldt and Bonpland never visited Brazil, they appear to have obtained at least their type collection of the Brazil nut from Brazil. On the other hand the above could mean that the type was from seed brought from Brazil and planted in Venezuela. The herbarium specimen is labelled Venezuela, and although there is some doubt we have cited it as Venezuelan.Until recently this species has been under collected because of the size of the trees, and because it is assumed to be commonly collected as is the case of many plants of economic importance. The publication of Sanchez (1973) shows that B. excelsa is abundant in the Department of Madre de Dios in Peru where it is an important part of the economy, yet only four recent collections from Peru were available for this study.Seaber (1933) showed that Brazil nuts accumulate up to 0.29 percent barium when grown on barium rich soils. Therefore, care should be taken to avoid their cultivation on barium rich soils because of the danger of barium toxicity.Because of commercial interest in the Brazil nut there has been much recent research on many aspects of Bertholletia such as pathogens, vegetative propagation, pollination, and cultivation in plantations. Much of this work has been sponsored by the Brazilian agricultural enterprise EMBRAPA and is summarized in a Bibliografia da Castanha-do-Brasil (Pereira & Costa, 1981).One of the most important recent works on Bertholletia is a study of floral biology and fruit development by Astrid Moritz (1984). This study showed that two style lengths exist. In the long-styled flowers, which are more common, the style is exserted beyond the stamens of the staminal ring, while in the short-styled flowers they are level with or lower than the stamens. This study confirmed that the flowers of the Brazil nut are visited by euglossine bees, and other studies (Nelson et al., 1987) have shown that various large bee species visit and presumably pollinate Bertholletia. Moritz showed that, although self pollination led to initial formation of seeds, no self pollinated crosses produced mature fruits, thus confirming earlier work (Muller et al., 1980) that the Brazil nut is an obligate out-crosser. Samples from six clones were crossed and there were statistically significant differences in fertility between the different crosses made. This has considerable importance for plantation use of the Brazil nut where care will have to be taken to mix clones that cross well. Grafts from a single clone, or two of low compatibility, would produce poorly. The study also showed that the number of fertilized fruit which develop can be increased by soil fertilization. The addition of nitrogen to the soil reduces the number of immature fruit that fall from the tree. Moritz gives considerable information about the clones of Brazil nut which are available at EMBRAPA, Belém.Details about the current agronomic information on the Brazil nut are summarized in Muller (1981) and Mori and Prance (1990) where seed germination, seedling morphology, grafting, cultural requirements, and productivity are all discussed. Grafting of the Brazil nut is not difficult and will facilitate the use of clonal material. No serious predations or pathogens have occurred in plantations except for attacks by leaf cutter ants.The major drawback to plantation growth of the Brazil nut is pollination. It will be necessary to grow the trees under conditions where the natural pollinators still occur. Perhaps the placement of plantations in strips within the forest will yield the best results. It is also important to avoid the loss of soil nutrients in plantations because it has now been well documented that productivity is linked to the proper balance of soil nutrients.The harvest of Brazil nuts is still primarily from wild trees, but the way is being prepared to bring this important crop into cultivation. For example, a large plantation has been established near Itacoatiara in the State of Amazonas, Brazil. Cultivation will be necessary in order to maintain a reasonable crop of the Brazil nut since deforestation is causing the loss of many areas of natural production, and because the rural nut gatherers are migrating to the ever expanding towns of Amazonia. This accounts for the reduction of the Brazilian harvest of Brazil nuts from 104,399 tons in 1970 to only 50,042 tons in 1980. This is an alarming figure considering the demand for Brazil nuts and their high nutritive value, and it is also a sad comment on the effects of Amazonian deforestation. Kitamura and Muller (1984) showed that in the major Brazil nut producing area of Marabá, in Pará, the regional production fell by 55% between 1978 and 1983 because of the felling of trees. Even the most valuable species of the rainforest are falling victim to Amazon deforestation.
Distribution:
Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Brazil South America| Acre Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| Beni Bolivia South America| Pando Bolivia South America|
Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Vaupés Colombia South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Guyana South America| Suriname South America| French Guiana South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| Madre de Dios Peru South America| Brazil South America| Acre Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America| Mato Grosso Brazil South America| Pará Brazil South America| Rondônia Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Bolivia South America| Beni Bolivia South America| Pando Bolivia South America|
Common Names:
too-wa, conduiro , jiturede , matamata de altura, Almendra, iuvia, jibia, braziliaansche noot, kokeleko, ingie noto, para noot, totoka, tetoka, toeka, castaña, castanha do Brasil, castanha-do-para, castanheira, tapa, Brazil nut, Para nut
too-wa, conduiro , jiturede , matamata de altura, Almendra, iuvia, jibia, braziliaansche noot, kokeleko, ingie noto, para noot, totoka, tetoka, toeka, castaña, castanha do Brasil, castanha-do-para, castanheira, tapa, Brazil nut, Para nut