SOMH OIL-HKAI{IN(i SKEDS INDIGENT S To 

 OUEENSLANIl. 



By FRANK SMITH, B.Sc , F.I.C , and 

 L. A MESTON. 



{Bead he/ore the Boyal Society of Queensland, 21 fh April, 



1914.) 



I.— THE SEED OF MACADAMIA TERNl FOLIA 

 AND ITS OIL. 



Macadamia tkrnifolia (F. v. M.) (N. O. Proteacae). 

 the Queensland Nut, the nut tree of sub-tropical Eastei'u 

 Australia is of coiiDuon occurrence in the northern brush- 

 forests of New South Wales and the coastal scrubs of South- 

 ern Queensland. 



It is a tall, evergreen tree, bearing dark green, d use 

 foliage, attaining a height of sixty feet, and is remarkable 

 in that its foliage is rich in cyanogenetic glucoside. 

 Oreshoff* in specimens propagated at Kew, obtained 

 I per cent of hydrocyanic acid from the green leaves. One 

 of us (F. Smith) has found .05 per cent, of hydrocyanic 

 acid in leaves collected during the winter months. Petrief 

 has observed the occurrence of hydrocyanic acid in both 

 varieties distinguished by Maiden, viz. : M. ternifolia 

 and M. ternifolia var. integrifolia. The trees come 

 into bearing during the winter, producing when nuxture 

 a fair crop. The fruit hangs in racemes, an<l consists 

 of a two valved coriaceous exocarp enclosing a slightly 

 roughened and shiny endocarp containing a single globular 

 seed. 



The Nut. 



The nut has an average weight of 4.8 grammes and 

 is composed of approximately 75 per cent, shell and 25 

 per cent, kernel. The shell is hard and brittle and from 



* Kew Bulletin, No. 10, 1909. 



t Proc. Linnoan Soc. X.S.W., 1912, \'.)1. :{7. l';ift [.. |.. 220. 



