Caryocar brasiliense
Encyclopedia
Caryocar brasiliense, known as Pequi or "souari nut", like its congener
s, is an edible fruit
popular in some areas of Brazil
, especially in Brazil's center-west region.
The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It is common in central Brazil
ian cerrado
habitat
from southern Pará
to Paraná
and northern Paraguay
. Its leaves are large, tough, hairy and palmate, with three leaflet
s each. Unlike most other cerrado trees, it bears flowers in the dry winter months, approximately July to September. The yellowish-white flowers are hermaphroditic and bear many stamen
s; they somewhat resemble a huge pale St John's Wort
flower (a distant relative among the Malpighiales). There are often two dozen or more flowers per inflorescence
.
Pollination
is mainly by bat
s, and as usual in such cases the flowers do not have a pleasant smell but produce copious thin nectar. Flowers open in the evening and produce nectar throughout the night, ceasing in the early morning. As it seems, each night's last nectar, produced around dawn, is richer in sugar
s than that produced in the night, though it is much less in quantity already. Moth
s, nocturnal wasp
s and ant
s also visit the flowers at night; the former two might also do some pollinating but they are not known to be of major importance. During the day, the flowers are visited by bee
s and wasps which feed on remaining pollen
. From dusk to the cessation of nectar production, hummingbird
s may visit the flowers. While most of them only do this opportunistically, some species – e.g. the Fork-tailed Woodnymph
(Thalurania furcata) and in particular the Glittering-throated Emerald
(Amazilia fimbriata) – appear to visit pequi tree flowers on a regular base. More significantly, visits by small "tanagers" of the Thraupidae and Cardinalidae around dusk are noted. In particular species like the Guira Tanager
(Hemithraupis guira), White-lined Tanager
(Tachyphonus rufus) and the Palm
(Thraupis palmarum) and Sayaca Tanager
s (T. sayaca) seem to be quite fond of pequi flower nectar and spend considerable time feeding on it when available. But even Curl-crested Jay
s (Cyanocorax cristatellus) have been observed to hang about flowering pequi trees at daybreak, though perhaps not just for the nectar, considering many insects attracted by it earlier would still be around on the tree. As the stigmata
dry out at daybreak, it is not clear whether birds, particularly "tanagers", play a role in pollination also or are merely making use of an easy early-morning snack, particularly considering that during the flowering season of C. brasiliense, little such food is available.
Fruits start off dark purple, turning olive green and finally buffy green as they ripen, taking about 5–6 months. Ripe fruits are about the size of an orange
. They resemble a mangosteen
(another distantly related member of the Malpighiales) in having a few (usually 1-4) segments of pulpy pericarp inside the skin, yellow and with a typical strong taste and smell mixing sweet, fruity and cheesy
aromas; this is derived mainly from volatile
ethyl
ester
s. Embedded in the mesocarp is a light-colored seed enclosed in a blackish shell covered with thin and tough woody spines, though spineless individuals exist in the wild. Both the mesocarp and the seed are edible for humans as well as many animals, including usually carnivorous species like the Yellow-headed Caracara
(Milvago chimachima).
Pequi pulp is a very popular food in Goiás
and Minas Gerais
, eaten by itself raw or prepared or used as an ingredient in cooking or to flavor beverages. Pequi with rice and chicken is especially popular among locals; tourists often find the unique rich flavor of pequi too strong and the dish too filling for their taste. Pequi pulp will tarnish silver
cutlery and if eaten raw the fruit is best enjoyed out of hand. Care must be taken to gently scrape the pulp off the pit using one's teeth: The spines easily detach and when stuck in the gums
can be highly painful and difficult to remove.
The pits with spines and remaining pulp can be left to dry in the sun for two days or so. Afterwards, the spines can be scraped off with a knife or stick, and the pit can be cracked open to extract the seed. From the latter, the edible pequi oil
is extracted commercially. They can also be roasted like peanut
s and eaten with salt as a rich snack; in fact, if anything they are more popular than Brazil nut
s locally.
Nearly every part of the tree is usable for food, medical or construction purposes. Pequi occupies an important role in the culture of indigenous people in Brazil's Cerrado region. Traditionally, rural Brazilians plant pequi trees around villages; the seed take a long time to germinate so that new trees must be planted ever so often for the supply not to cease. Demand for the fruit has risen in recent decades while habitat
has been destroyed, putting the stocks under strain. One report writes:
Also, given the importance of bats and perhaps birds for pollination, removal of native woodland is liable to have long-term negative impacts on fruit yield even if no C. brasiliense trees are physically harmed. Conserving pollinator habitat is probably crucial for rich yields of the valuable fruits and other produce.
Congener
Congener has several different meanings depending on the field in which it is used. Colloquially, it is used to mean a person or thing like another, in character or action.-Biology:In biology, congeners are organisms within the same genus...
s, is an edible fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
popular in some areas of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, especially in Brazil's center-west region.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian cerrado
Cerrado
The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
from southern Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
to Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
and northern Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. Its leaves are large, tough, hairy and palmate, with three leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s each. Unlike most other cerrado trees, it bears flowers in the dry winter months, approximately July to September. The yellowish-white flowers are hermaphroditic and bear many stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s; they somewhat resemble a huge pale St John's Wort
St John's wort
St John's wort is the plant species Hypericum perforatum, and is also known as Tipton's Weed, Chase-devil, or Klamath weed....
flower (a distant relative among the Malpighiales). There are often two dozen or more flowers per inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
.
Pollination
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
is mainly by bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, and as usual in such cases the flowers do not have a pleasant smell but produce copious thin nectar. Flowers open in the evening and produce nectar throughout the night, ceasing in the early morning. As it seems, each night's last nectar, produced around dawn, is richer in sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
s than that produced in the night, though it is much less in quantity already. Moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s, nocturnal wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s and ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s also visit the flowers at night; the former two might also do some pollinating but they are not known to be of major importance. During the day, the flowers are visited by bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s and wasps which feed on remaining pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
. From dusk to the cessation of nectar production, hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s may visit the flowers. While most of them only do this opportunistically, some species – e.g. the Fork-tailed Woodnymph
Fork-tailed Woodnymph
The Fork-tailed Woodnymph is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela....
(Thalurania furcata) and in particular the Glittering-throated Emerald
Glittering-throated Emerald
The Glittering-throated Emerald , sometimes placed in the genus Polyerata, is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family....
(Amazilia fimbriata) – appear to visit pequi tree flowers on a regular base. More significantly, visits by small "tanagers" of the Thraupidae and Cardinalidae around dusk are noted. In particular species like the Guira Tanager
Guira Tanager
The Guira Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former...
(Hemithraupis guira), White-lined Tanager
White-lined Tanager
The White-lined Tanager, Tachyphonus rufus, is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago.It occurs in semi-open areas including gardens...
(Tachyphonus rufus) and the Palm
Palm Tanager
The Palm Tanager, Thraupis palmarum, is a medium-sized passerine bird. This tanager is a resident breeder from Nicaragua south to Bolivia, Paraguay and southern Brazil. It also breeds on Trinidad and, since 1962, on Tobago...
(Thraupis palmarum) and Sayaca Tanager
Sayaca Tanager
The Sayaca Tanager is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family, the tanagers.It is a common resident in northeastern, central, and southeastern Brazil, and Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeast Argentina...
s (T. sayaca) seem to be quite fond of pequi flower nectar and spend considerable time feeding on it when available. But even Curl-crested Jay
Curl-crested Jay
The Curl-crested Jay is a jay from South America.This New World or "blue" jay is a beautiful and large bird with predominantly dark blue back, an almost black head and neck, and snow-white chest and underparts...
s (Cyanocorax cristatellus) have been observed to hang about flowering pequi trees at daybreak, though perhaps not just for the nectar, considering many insects attracted by it earlier would still be around on the tree. As the stigmata
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
dry out at daybreak, it is not clear whether birds, particularly "tanagers", play a role in pollination also or are merely making use of an easy early-morning snack, particularly considering that during the flowering season of C. brasiliense, little such food is available.
Fruits start off dark purple, turning olive green and finally buffy green as they ripen, taking about 5–6 months. Ripe fruits are about the size of an orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
. They resemble a mangosteen
Mangosteen
The purple mangosteen , colloquially known simply as mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m tall...
(another distantly related member of the Malpighiales) in having a few (usually 1-4) segments of pulpy pericarp inside the skin, yellow and with a typical strong taste and smell mixing sweet, fruity and cheesy
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
aromas; this is derived mainly from volatile
Volatility (chemistry)
In chemistry and physics, volatility is the tendency of a substance to vaporize. Volatility is directly related to a substance's vapor pressure. At a given temperature, a substance with higher vapor pressure vaporizes more readily than a substance with a lower vapor pressure.The term is primarily...
ethyl
Ethyl group
In chemistry, an ethyl group is an alkyl substituent derived from ethane . It has the formula -C2H5 and is very often abbreviated -Et.Ethylation is the formation of a compound by introduction of the ethyl functional group, C2H5....
ester
Ester
Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...
s. Embedded in the mesocarp is a light-colored seed enclosed in a blackish shell covered with thin and tough woody spines, though spineless individuals exist in the wild. Both the mesocarp and the seed are edible for humans as well as many animals, including usually carnivorous species like the Yellow-headed Caracara
Yellow-headed Caracara
The Yellow-headed Caracara is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found in tropical and subtropical South America and the southern portion of Central America...
(Milvago chimachima).
Use by humans and status
Goiás
Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
and Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, eaten by itself raw or prepared or used as an ingredient in cooking or to flavor beverages. Pequi with rice and chicken is especially popular among locals; tourists often find the unique rich flavor of pequi too strong and the dish too filling for their taste. Pequi pulp will tarnish silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
cutlery and if eaten raw the fruit is best enjoyed out of hand. Care must be taken to gently scrape the pulp off the pit using one's teeth: The spines easily detach and when stuck in the gums
Gingiva
The gingiva , or gums, consists of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth.-General description:...
can be highly painful and difficult to remove.
The pits with spines and remaining pulp can be left to dry in the sun for two days or so. Afterwards, the spines can be scraped off with a knife or stick, and the pit can be cracked open to extract the seed. From the latter, the edible pequi oil
Pequi oil
Pequi oil is a seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the Caryocar brasiliense, which is native to Brazil. The pale yellow mesocarp oil is extracted and used directly as a cooking oil...
is extracted commercially. They can also be roasted like peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s and eaten with salt as a rich snack; in fact, if anything they are more popular than Brazil nut
Brazil Nut
The Brazil nut is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seed.- Order :...
s locally.
Nearly every part of the tree is usable for food, medical or construction purposes. Pequi occupies an important role in the culture of indigenous people in Brazil's Cerrado region. Traditionally, rural Brazilians plant pequi trees around villages; the seed take a long time to germinate so that new trees must be planted ever so often for the supply not to cease. Demand for the fruit has risen in recent decades while habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
has been destroyed, putting the stocks under strain. One report writes:
"The pequi is the main symbol of this de-structuring of the economy. The pequi is habitually consumed by the population in the Cerrado zone and is deeply rooted in the regional culture and cooking. For the Mineiros, the Cerrado inhabitants of Minas Gerais, the pequi does not belong to anyone, because it belongs to all. Therefore, they maintain their ancestral right to take it wherever it is, in public or private land, fenced in land or unfenced land, etc., wherever it is, the pequi was always "accessible" to the regional society. Since the sixties, due to logging and installation on a wide scale of eucalyptus plantations, the pequi and all that it represents are under a serious threat. So much so, that at the market in Curvelo we did not find any pequis for sale. Some trades people commented on the difficulty they have in obtaining this fruit, which was previously so accessible."
Also, given the importance of bats and perhaps birds for pollination, removal of native woodland is liable to have long-term negative impacts on fruit yield even if no C. brasiliense trees are physically harmed. Conserving pollinator habitat is probably crucial for rich yields of the valuable fruits and other produce.