Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



125 



"The Brazil nut, also called Para nut from the port of shipment — is the seed 

 of a large tree (Bertholletia excelsa Humb. and Bpl.) — Another species, B. nobilis 

 Miers, also yields a similar nut." Winton, A. L. Micro, of Veg. Foods, p. 312. 



This state of affairs seems to be due primarily to Bonpland's assumption 

 stated in connection with his description of B. excelsa, that it is this species which 

 furnishes the Brazil nut. The long time which elapsed previous to the identifica- 

 tion of a second species allowed this view to become so thoroughly established that 

 Miers' work appears to have been overlooked by persons interested in botany 

 from the economic standpoint. The work of various botanists during this interval, 

 and especially Berg's description of B. nobilis under the name B. excelsa, no 

 doubt contributed to the same end. Moreover the seeds of the two species, so far 

 as can be judged from the descriptions and drawings available, are so similar as to 

 be distinguished with difficulty if at all. 



Figure 47. Opercula from commercial Brazil nuts. The pointed apex is broken 

 from the operculum in the lower left-hand corner of the figure and is worn down 

 to a certain extent by friction in some of the others (x2-3). 



After making a careful study of the situation, the writer has become con- 

 vinced that the commonly accepted view is erroneous and that the Brazil nuts of 

 commerce are derived from B. nobilis Miers (B. excelsa Berg) and not from B. 

 excelsa Humb. and Bonp. The reasons for this view are given below: 



(a) Commercial samples of Brazil nuts contain, in larger or smaller num- 

 bers, opercula (Fig. 47) derived from the fruit and the presence of these in itself 

 is evidence that the nuts were derived from B. nobilis, since, as has been noted in 

 the comparison, the opercula fall from the mature pyxidia of B. excelsa and hence 



