The Editor: Three New Nuts 



181 



gathered from wild trees. Pastrovitch 

 found^ that 65.73% of oil could be 

 extracted with petroleum, ether or 

 56.12% by simple pressure, and he 

 describes the oil as "bright yellow, odor- 

 less, of a pleasant, pure taste; it might 

 very well be used as a food fat." 



THE PARADISE NUT. 



Somewhat similar to the Pili nut is 

 the Paradise nut, a near relative of the 

 more common Brazil nut, and grown in 

 Bradl, Venezuela and Guiana. Its 

 botanical genus is Lecythis, and the 

 species usually shipped to this country 

 is said to be usitata, but it seems prob- 

 able that several species are used, the 

 principal one being that usually known 

 as L. zahucajo. The native name is 

 Sapucaia, and under this name it is sold 

 in Europe, the designation "Paradise 

 nut" appearing to have originated in 

 New York. 



The natural order of Lecythidaceae, 

 which embraces not only the Paradise 

 nuts, but the Brazil nut (Bertholletia 

 excelsa) and the Cannon Ball tree 

 (CouroMpita guianensis) is remarkable 

 for the character of its fruit, the seeds 

 being enclosed in hard, woody "pots" 

 or "urns," provided with lids which fall 

 when the fruit is ripe, allowing the seeds 

 or nuts to drop to the ground. The 

 receptacle of the Brazil nut is fairly 

 familiar; that of the Paradise nut, shown 

 in the accompanying photograph, is six 

 inches in diameter, and the lid two inches 

 across. It is frequently called ' ' monkey 

 pot," as it is alleged that the monkeys 

 are able to open it while still on the tree. 

 Barring such agency, when mature the 

 lid opens by itself, the nuts drop, and 

 the pot remains on the tree for a year or 

 tw^o. 



FORMERLY A STOCK FOOD. 



The tree is common in its habitat, but 

 it is only in recent years that the nuts 

 have attained a commercial value. 

 Writers early in the last century declare 



they were used only for stock food, much 

 as acorns in the United States, and it is 

 even alleged that the vernacular name, 

 "sapucaia," means "chicken," and points 

 to their former use for fattening poultry. 

 In earlier days, however, there is evi- 

 dence that they were highly esteemed 

 by the Indians as food, although William 

 Piso, who testifies to this, declares that 

 excessive indulgence in them causes 

 baldness.* 



They have always been somewhat 

 scarce, because of the fondness of mon- 

 keys for them; and for this reason, and 

 the present commercial demand, they 

 now bring three times as high a price as 

 the Brazil nut — 75 cents a pound. The 

 preference for them is due to the fact 

 that the meat is considered of a finer 

 flavor, as well as more digestible. The 

 shell, moreover, is thin, in pleasing con- 

 trast to that of the Pili nut, which has a 

 way of putting lightly-made nutcrackers 

 quite out of commission. 



Most of the 30 or 40 species of Lecy- 

 this attain a large size and furnish 

 excellent timber, which is considered 

 particularly resistant to the attacks of 

 teredos and barnacles, in salt water. 

 L. ollaria, most commonly known as the 

 Monkey Pot Tree, is said to resemble an 

 elm in appearance. Its bark can be 

 separated into nearly a hundred layers, 

 about the thickness of writing paper, 

 which the Indians commonly use in 

 rolling cigarettes. Its seeds contain 39% 

 of oil; the pot w^hich holds them is 

 widely used as a kitchen utensil. The 

 seeds of L. lanceolata are considered nar- 

 cotic, and usually roasted before they 

 are eaten; those of L. amara are too 

 bitter to eat, but furnish a valuable 

 industrial oil.^ The species is not, to 

 my knowledge, under cultivation, but 

 may eventually repay such culture. 



THE QUEENSLAND NUT. 



The Queensland nut is more interest- 

 ing than either of the two preceding, to 



^Pastrovitch, P. Chem.-Zeitung No. 65, p. 781, 1907. 



^Gulielmi Pisonis Commentarium in lacobi Bontii Historiae Naturalis et Medicae Indiae 

 Orientalis Liber VI, p 135, Amsterdam, 1658. He calls the nut lagapucaio and distinguishes two 

 species. "In (calyces)," he says, "continentur nuces jucundi saporis * * * & gratissimum 

 incolis aeque & animalibus suppeditunt alimentum. Sapore & excellentia Pistaceis adaequantur 

 & venerem sopitam dicuntur excitare. Potiones & pultes, tarn ad JMedicinam quam ad epulas 

 ex illis comparantur." 



^Flora do Brazil, p. 65. 



