Taccy Nut grows to 20 meters in height with small, thick and flattened crown in the wild or with large, rounded out crown under cultivation. It is widespread in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and the East Indies. It is farmed as a shade tree for coffee and cacao groves in Colombia. It's a member of the Euphorbiaceae family, genus Caryodendron.

The Taccy Nut flourishes in areas with temperatures ranging between 12° C and 29° C and 800-5000 mm yearly rainfall and occurs on a broad array of soils at elevations from sea level to 2300 m. Can stand a few months of moderate drought and withstands short waterlogging.

Leaves are elliptically formed, 25 cm long, 10 cm broad, somewhat leathery. Male flowers come along on terminal racemes, female flowers in terminal panicles, wind pollinated. Fruit is a dehiscent, woody capsule, with 3, 3-sided kernels.

In Columbia and East Indies the nuts (seeds) are valued for eating and are eaten after roasting with a flavor akin to hazelnut. Mashed nuts and milk is fed to weaned babies.

The 3 to 5 cm in diameter and 4 to 7 cm long kernel is enclosed by a thin, brown shell which could easily be broken up with fingers. Nuts are also a good source of edible oil rich in linoleic acid.

Nuts mature at the onset of the rains and either fall down or are shaken off. They incline to mature all at once requires that nut are gathered quick before they sprout, rot or they are eaten by creatures. Although yields might vary substantially from year to year a 10-year old Taccy Nut tree can produce 50-90 kg of capsules per tree and large trees produce over 200 kg.

Under dry conditions nuts stay fresh for up to 30 days in the capsule; shell harm or a dampish environment can lead up enzyme reaction which results in acidification and rancidity of the nut oil. However, once the oil is extracted from the nuts it can be safely stored for a long time without becoming rancid.

Propagation of the Taccy Nut is by seeds. They should be preferably planted within 10 days of harvesting. Plant growth is fast, with fruiting generally in the seventh year whilst trees are commonly 7 m tall.

taccy nut, tacay nut, caryodendron orinocense

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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.