The Brazil nut, Bertholletia excelsa,  is a member of a family of tropical trees, Lecythidacea. This South American tree is the only species in the genus Bertholletia. It is mostly found scattered in large forests on the banks of the Amazon. It is a long lived tree and may live for 500 years or more. It is of the largest Amazonian trees, reaching 35-45 m tall with a trunk 1-2 m in diameter. The leaves that fall during dry season are usually 20-35 cm long, 10-15 cm broad, alternate and oblong shaped. Flowers are small and greenish-white.

Brazil nuts produce fruit only in forests not previously disturbed by humans, as forests that are disturbed usually lack the presence of an orchid that produces a scent that attracts small male long-tongued orchid bees. The male bees use the scent of the orchid to their advantage; it attracts the large female bee, to mate. Without the orchid, the bees don't get together to mate, and therefore flowers can not be pollinated. The flower with its complex coiled hood needs a strong enough insect to lift the hood and with long enough tongue to negotiate the coiled flower.

Both the orchids and the bees need to be present for pollination to take and fruit to be produced. In ideal conditions the fruit takes 14 months to mature after pollination and may rich a weighing up to 2 kg, resembling a coconut and contains 8-24 triangular seeds 4-5 cm long called brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium and a good source of magnesium and thiamine. Brazil nuts contain also small amounts of radium. Although the amount of this radioactive element is very small, and largely it is not retained by the body, it is 1000 times higher than in other foods. This is due to the extensive root system of the tree.

Propagation is by seeds, mostly planted by the Agouti, a native rodent that eats some of the nuts and burying others in shady places for later use. Some of these burred seeds are able to germinate to produce the next generation of Brazil nut trees. The nuts contain about are 15% protein, 10% carbohydrates, and 70% fat. The biggest exporter of Brazil nuts is Bolivia despite of the name Brazil nuts.

brazil nut

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The key to successful fruit and nut production is the provision of a beneficial environment for the trees that bear them.