Brazil nut
| Brazil nut tree | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Lecythidaceae |
| Genus: |
Bertholletia Bonpl. |
| Species: | B. excelsa |
| Binomial name | |
|
Bertholletia excelsa Humb. & Bonpl. |
|
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 2,743 kJ (656 kcal) |
|
12.27 g
|
|
| Starch | 0.25 g |
| Sugars | 2.33 g |
| Dietary fiber | 7.5 g |
|
66.43 g
|
|
| Saturated | 15.137 g |
| Monounsaturated | 24.548 g |
| Polyunsaturated | 20.577 g |
|
14.32 g
|
|
| Tryptophan | 0.141 g |
| Threonine | 0.362 g |
| Isoleucine | 0.516 g |
| Leucine | 1.155 g |
| Lysine | 0.492 g |
| Methionine | 1.008 g |
| Cystine | 0.367 g |
| Phenylalanine | 0.630 g |
| Tyrosine | 0.420 g |
| Valine | 0.756 g |
| Arginine | 2.148 g |
| Histidine | 0.386 g |
| Alanine | 0.577 g |
| Aspartic acid | 1.346 g |
| Glutamic acid | 3.147 g |
| Glycine | 0.718 g |
| Proline | 0.657 g |
| Serine | 0.683 g |
| Vitamins | |
| Thiamine (B1) |
(54%)
0.617 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) |
(3%)
0.035 mg |
| Niacin (B3) |
(2%)
0.295 mg |
| Vitamin B6 |
(8%)
0.101 mg |
| Folate (B9) |
(6%)
22 μg |
| Vitamin C |
(1%)
0.7 mg |
| Vitamin E |
(38%)
5.73 mg |
| Minerals | |
| Calcium |
(16%)
160 mg |
| Iron |
(19%)
2.43 mg |
| Magnesium |
(106%)
376 mg |
| Manganese |
(57%)
1.2 mg |
| Phosphorus |
(104%)
725 mg |
| Potassium |
(14%)
659 mg |
| Sodium |
(0%)
3 mg |
| Zinc |
(43%)
4.06 mg |
| Other constituents | |
| Water | 3.48 g |
| Selenium | 1917 μg |
| Beta-Sitosterol | 64 mg |
|
|
|
|
|
| Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
The Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds.
The Brazil nut family is in the order Ericales, as are other well-known plants such as blueberries, cranberries, sapote, gutta-percha, tea, gooseberries, phlox and persimmons.
The Brazil nut tree is the only species in the monotypic genus Bertholletia. It is native to the Guianas, Venezuela, Brazil, eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and eastern Bolivia. It occurs as scattered trees in large forests on the banks of the Amazon River, Rio Negro, Tapajós, and the Orinoco. The genus is named after the French chemist Claude Louis Berthollet.
The Brazil nut is a large tree, reaching 50 m (160 ft) tall and with a trunk 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft) in diameter, making it among the largest of trees in the Amazon rainforests. It may live for 500 years or more, and according to some authorities often reaches an age of 1,000 years. The stem is straight and commonly without branches for well over half the tree's height, with a large emergent crown of long branches above the surrounding canopy of other trees.
The bark is grayish and smooth. The leaves are dry-season deciduous, alternate, simple, entire or crenate, oblong, 20–35 cm (7.9–13.8 in) long and 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) broad. The flowers are small, greenish-white, in panicles 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long; each flower has a two-parted, deciduous calyx, six unequal cream-colored petals, and numerous stamens united into a broad, hood-shaped mass.
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