The
Wild Cashew or
Espavé (
Anacardium excelsum; syn.
Anacardium rhinocarpus) is a
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
family
AnacardiaceaeAnacardiaceae is a family of flowering plants bearing fruits that are drupes and in some cases producing urushiol, an irritant. Its numerous genera include several of economic importance. Notable plants in this family include cashew , mango, poison ivy, sumac, smoke tree, marula and pistachio...
. The tree is common in the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds, found as far north as
GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
and extending south into
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
.
It is a large
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
tree growing to 45 m tall, with a straight, rose-hued trunk reaching 3 m in diameter. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are simple, alternate, oval-shaped, 15–30 cm long and 5–12 cm broad.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Wild Cashew' Start a new discussion about 'Wild Cashew' Answer questions from other users |
The
Wild Cashew or
Espavé (
Anacardium excelsum; syn.
Anacardium rhinocarpus) is a
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
family
AnacardiaceaeAnacardiaceae is a family of flowering plants bearing fruits that are drupes and in some cases producing urushiol, an irritant. Its numerous genera include several of economic importance. Notable plants in this family include cashew , mango, poison ivy, sumac, smoke tree, marula and pistachio...
. The tree is common in the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds, found as far north as
GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
and extending south into
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
.
It is a large
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
tree growing to 45 m tall, with a straight, rose-hued trunk reaching 3 m in diameter. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are simple, alternate, oval-shaped, 15–30 cm long and 5–12 cm broad. The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s are produced in a
panicleA panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches ....
up to 35 cm long, each flower small, pale green to white. Older flowers turn pink and develop a strong clove-like fragrance.
The true fruit is a 2–3 cm long
drupeIn botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
shaped like a kidney. Maturation occurs in March, April, and May. Uncooked, the fruit is poisonous, however the nut may be roasted and eaten.
See also
- Cashew
The cashew is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The plant is native to northeastern Brazil. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú...
- the cultivated species Anacardium occidentale.
- Anacardium Giganteum, also known as Wild Cashew, used medicinally.