ANATTO FAMILY (BIXACEAE*) 



166. Achiote, anatto 



Achiote, or anatto, a small tree planted for the 

 orange-red dye on the seeds, has become natural- 

 ized. It is characterized by : (1) thin ovate leaves 

 long-pointed at apex, heart-shaped at base, and 

 long-petioled ; (2) large, showy, pinkish or pur- 

 plish-tinged or whitish flowers li/^-2 inches across 

 the 5 spreading petals, several or few in terminal 

 clustere; (3) reddish-brown to dark brown, 

 rounded seed capsules 1-1 V^ inches long, and broad, 

 densely covered with soft prickles up to Vi "^cl^ 

 long; (4) orange sap m the inner bark; and (5) 

 twigs ringed at nodes. 



A small evergreen tree commonly less than 15 

 feet high and 4 inches in triuik diameter. The 

 bark is light brown and smoothish, with many 

 warty dots (lenticels), or fissured. Inner bark is 

 pinkish toward outside and orange within, and 

 often slightly bitter. The twigs are green and 

 with minute, rusty, reddish-brown scales, becom- 

 ing dark brown. 



The alternate leaves have slender petioles 1-3 

 inches long. Leaf blades are 314-714 inclies long 

 and 21^-41/^ inches broad, thin, with minute scales 

 when young but becoming hairless or remaining 

 slightly scaly on lower surface, green or dark green 

 on upper surface, and gray to brownish green 

 beneath. 



Flower clusters (panicles) are branched, and 

 the fragrant flowers are on scaly stalks. Tliere are 

 5 brownish-green sepals about % inch long, 

 covered with reddish-bro%vn scales and soon fall- 

 ing; 5 broad, rounded, pinkish or puii^lish-tinged 

 or whitish petals about 1 inch long; numerous pur- 

 plish stamens about % inch long; and pistil % 

 inch long composed of bristly 1-celled ovary, style, 

 and short 2-lobed stigma. 



Seed capsules are somewhat flattened and split 

 into 2 parts. There are many angular seeds about 

 %6 inch long, with bright orange-red fleshy seed 

 coat. Flowering mainly in spring and maturing 

 fruits chiefly in summer. 



The sapwood is whitish, and the heartwood 

 is light brown or yellowish. The wood is soft, 



Bixa orellana L.* 



lightweight (specific gravity 0.4), porous, weak, 

 and not durable. 



Commercially important for the orange-red dye 

 called anatto. Extracted in the kitchen by boiling 

 the seeds in cooking fat or oil, anatto is used to 

 colar rice, margarine, butter, cheese, soups, and 

 other foods but adds no flavor. It is a dye for oils, 

 varnishes, and cosmetics also. Indians have 

 painted their faces and bodies with this pigment, 

 which also is reported to give relief from insects. 



The conspicuous pinkish flowers and prickly 

 fruits also make this plant an attractive ornamen- 

 tal, and the flowei-s are a source of honey. Kopes 

 and twine have been made from the fibrous bark, 

 and a ginn similar to gum arabic has been obtained 

 from the branches. It is said that fire can be 

 started by friction of two pieces of the soft wood. 

 In some places the seeds and leaves have been em- 

 ployed in domestic medicine. 



Grown around houses and occasionally natural- 

 ized in nearby thickets on the coastal plains of 

 Puerto Rico. Also in Vieques, St. Croix, St. 

 Thomas, and St. John. 



Range. — Native of continental tropical Amer- 

 ica but spread by cultivation and now from Mexico 

 to Argentina and Brazil. Widely planted and 

 naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions of 

 the world. Through West Indies from Cuba and 

 Jamaica to Barbados and Trinidad. Uncommon 

 in cultivation in southern Florida. 



Other common names. — achote, bija (Puerto 

 Rico) ; roucou (Virgin Islands) ; achiote, achote 

 (Spanish); bija (Dominican Republic, Cuba, 

 Venezuela) ; chaya, xayau (Guatemala) ; cuaja- 

 chote (El Salvador) ; onoto, onotillo, caituco 

 (Venezuela); shambu (Peru); unicu (Bolivia, 

 Argentina) ; annato, annatto, anatto-tree (Eng- 

 lish) ; roucou (Trinidad and Tobago) ; atta (Brit- 

 ish Honduras) ; onoto (British Guiana) ; roucou, 

 roucouyer (French) ; achiot (French Guiana) ; 

 rucu, roucou (Dutch West Indies) ; roucou, koesoe- 

 wee (Surinam) ; urucu, achiote (Brazil). 



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