Brazil nut - wikipedia Brazil nut Brazil nut tree Conservation status Vulnerable ( IUCN 2.3 ) 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. 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. Contents 1 Order 2 Brazil nut tree 2.1 Hazards 3 Reproduction 4 Nomenclature 5 Nut production 5.1 Effects of harvesting 6 Uses 6.1 Nutrition 6.2 Brazil nut oil 6.3 Other uses 6.4 Wood 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Order The Brazil nut family is in the order Ericales, as are other well - known plants such as blueberries, cranberries, sapote, gutta - percha, tea, phlox and persimmons. Brazil nut tree Tree branch 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. Hazards In Brazil, it is illegal to cut down a Brazil nut tree. As a result, they can be found outside production areas, in the backyards of homes and near roads and streets. The fruit containing nuts are very heavy and rigid, and they pose a serious threat to vehicles and people passing under the tree. Brazil nuts sink in fresh water, which can cause clogging of waterways in riparian areas. Reproduction A freshly cut Brazil nut fruit Brazil nut trees produce fruit almost exclusively in pristine forests, as disturbed forests lack the large - bodied bees of the genera Bombus, Centris, Epicharis, Eulaema, and Xylocopa which are the only ones capable of pollinating the tree 's flowers, with different bee genera being the primary pollinators in different areas, and different times of year. Brazil nuts have been harvested from plantations, but production is low and is currently not economically viable. The fruit takes 14 months to mature after pollination of the flowers. The fruit itself is a large capsule 10 -- 15 cm ( 3.9 -- 5.9 in ) in diameter, resembling a coconut endocarp in size and weighing up to 2 kg ( 4.4 lb ). It has a hard, woody shell 8 -- 12 mm ( 0.31 -- 0.47 in ) thick, which contains eight to 24 triangular seeds 4 -- 5 cm ( 1.6 -- 2.0 in ) long ( the `` Brazil nuts '' ) packed like the segments of an orange. The capsule contains a small hole at one end, which enables large rodents like the agouti to gnaw it open. They then eat some of the seeds inside while burying others for later use ; some of these are able to germinate into new Brazil nut trees. Most of the seeds are `` planted '' by the agoutis in shady places, and the young saplings may have to wait years, in a state of dormancy, for a tree to fall and sunlight to reach it, when it starts growing again. Capuchin monkeys have been reported to open Brazil nuts using a stone as an anvil. Nomenclature Brazil nut seeds in shell Depiction of the Brazil nut in Scientific American Supplement, No. 598, June 18, 1887 Despite their name, the most significant exporter of Brazil nuts is not Brazil but Bolivia, where they are called castañas o nuez de Brasil. In Brazil, these nuts are called castanhas - do - pará ( literally `` chestnuts from Pará '' ), but Acreans call them castanhas - do - acre instead. Indigenous names include juvia in the Orinoco area. In Cuba, the nut is alternatively called coquito de Santiago, literally St. James coconut. Though it is commonly called the Brazil nut, in botanical terms it is the seed from the fruit of this tree. To a botanist, a nut is a hard - shelled indehiscent fruit. ( An example of a botanical nut would be an acorn or a hazelnut. ) In North America, Brazil nuts are sometimes known by the epithet `` nigger toes, '' though the term has fallen out of favor as public use of the racial slur became increasingly unacceptable by the 1960s. They can be seen being sold in a market under this name in a scene from the 1922 Stan Laurel film The Pest. Nut production In 2014, global production of Brazil nuts ( in shell ) was 95,000 tonnes, remaining a consistent annual total since 2009. The largest producers were Bolivia ( 47 % of world total ) and Brazil ( 40 % ), and the United States was the largest importer, with 9 % of the world production volume. Effects of harvesting Brazil nuts for international trade can come from wild collection rather than from plantations. This has been advanced as a model for generating income from a tropical forest without destroying it. The nuts are gathered by migrant workers known as castanheiros. Analysis of tree ages in areas that are harvested show that moderate and intense gathering takes so many seeds that not enough are left to replace older trees as they die. Sites with light gathering activities had many young trees, while sites with intense gathering practices had hardly any young trees. Statistical tests were done to determine what environmental factors could be contributing to the lack of younger trees. The most consistent effect was found to be the level of gathering activity at a particular site. A computer model predicting the size of trees where people picked all the nuts matched the tree size data gathered from physical sites that had heavy harvesting. Uses Nutrition Brazil nuts after shell removal Brazil nuts, dried, unblanched, shelled Nutritional value per 100 g ( 3.5 oz ) Energy 2,743 kJ ( 656 kcal ) Carbohydrates 12.27 g Starch 0.25 g Sugars 2.33 g Dietary fiber 7.5 g Fat 66.43 g Saturated 15.137 g Monounsaturated 24.548 g Polyunsaturated 20.577 g Protein 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 Link to USDA Database entry Units μg = micrograms mg = milligrams IU = International units Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source : USDA Nutrient Database Brazil nuts are 14 % protein, 12 % carbohydrate, and 66 % fat by weight ; 85 % of their calories come from fat, and a 100 gram amount provides 656 total calories. The fat components are 23 % saturated, 38 % monounsaturated, and 32 % polyunsaturated. Due to their high polyunsaturated fat content, primarily omega - 6 fatty acids, shelled Brazil nuts may quickly become rancid. Nutritionally, Brazil nuts are an excellent source ( > 19 % of the Daily Value, DV ) of dietary fiber ( 30 % DV ) and various vitamins and dietary minerals. A 100 gram amount ( 75 % of one cup ) of Brazil nuts contains rich content of thiamin ( 54 % DV ), vitamin E ( 38 % DV ), magnesium ( 106 % DV ), phosphorus ( 104 % DV ), manganese ( 57 % DV ) and zinc ( 43 % DV ) ( right table ). Brazil nuts are perhaps the richest dietary source of selenium, with a one - ounce ( 28 g ) serving of 6 nuts supplying 774 % DV. This is 10 times the adult U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance, more even than the Tolerable Upper Intake Level, although the amount of selenium within batches of nuts varies greatly. The European Union has imposed strict regulations on the import from Brazil of Brazil nuts in their shells, as the shells have been found to contain high levels of aflatoxins, which can lead to liver cancer. Brazil nuts contain small amounts of radium, a radioactive element, in about 1 -- 7 nCi / kg or 40 -- 260 Bq / kg, about 1000 times higher than in several other common foods. According to Oak Ridge Associated Universities, this is not because of elevated levels of radium in the soil, but due to `` the very extensive root system of the tree. '' Brazil nuts are a common ingredient in mixed nuts. Because of their large size, they tend to rise to the top upon forced vibrations likely encountered during transport, an example of granular convection, which for this reason is often called the `` Brazil nut effect. '' Brazil nut oil Brazil nut oil Brazil nut oil contains 75 % unsaturated fatty acids composed mainly of oleic and linolenic acids, as well as the phytosterol, beta - sitosterol, and fat - soluble vitamin E. The following table presents the composition of fatty acids in Brazil nut oil : Palmitic acid 16 - 20 % Palmitoleic acid 0.5 - 1.2 % Stearic acid 9 - 13 % Oleic acid 36 - 45 % Linolenic acid 33 - 38 % Saturated fats 25 % Unsaturated fats 75 % Other Uses A carved Brazil nut fruit This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2016 ) As well as its food use, Brazil nut oil is also used as a lubricant in clocks, for making artists ' paints, and in the cosmetics industry. Engravings in Brazil nut shells were supposedly used as decorative jewelry by the indigenous tribes in Bolivia, although no examples still exist. Because of its hardness, the Brazil nut 's shell is often pulverized and used as an abrasive to polish materials such as metals and even ceramics ( in the same way jeweler 's rouge is used ). Wood The lumber from Brazil nut trees ( not to be confused with Brazilwood ) is of excellent quality, but logging the trees is prohibited by law in all three producing countries ( Brazil, Bolivia and Peru ). Illegal extraction of timber and land clearances present a continuing threat. See also Brazil nut cake List of culinary nuts Official list of endangered flora of Brazil References Jump up ^ Bruno Taitson ( January 18, 2007 ). `` Harvesting nuts, improving lives in Brazil ''. World Wildlife Fund. Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2012. Jump up ^ Nelson, B.W. ; Absy, M.L. ; Barbosa, E.M. ; Prance, G.T. ( 1985 ). `` Observations on flower visitors to Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K. and Couratari tenuicarpa A.C. Sm. ( Lecythidaceae ). ''. Acta Amazonica. 15 ( 1 ) : 225 -- 234. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 08. Jump up ^ Moritz, A. ( 1984 ). `` Estudos biológicos da floração e da frutificação da castanha - do - Brasil ( Bertholletia excelsa HBK ) ''. 29. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 08. Jump up ^ http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2012/978019/ Jump up ^ Scott A. Mori. `` The Brazil Nut Industry -- - Past, Present, and Future ''. The New York Botanical Garden. Retrieved July 17, 2012. Jump up ^ Tim Hennessey ( March 2, 2001 ). `` The Brazil Nut ( Bertholletia excelsa ) ''. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2012. Jump up ^ Enrique G. Ortiz. `` The Brazil Nut Tree : More than just nuts ''. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2012. Jump up ^ Brazil, Matt ( July 14, 2000 ). `` Actually, My Hair Is n't Red ''. The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 06. Hearing angmo so often took me back to my childhood, when my friends and I used the words Jew and Gyp ( the latter short for Gypsy ) as verbs, meaning to cheat. At that time, in the 1960s, other racial epithets, these based on physical appearance, were commonly heard : cracker, slant - eye, bongo lips, knit - head. To digress to the ludicrous, Brazil nuts were called `` nigger toes. '' ^ Jump up to : Kosikova, Daria ( 21 July 2016 ). `` Brazil Nut Market - Globalization on the Brazil Nut Market ''. IndexBox. Retrieved 16 June 2017. Jump up ^ Silvertown, J. ( 2004 ). `` Sustainability in a nutshell ''. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 19 ( 6 ) : 276 -- 278. doi : 10.1016 / j. tree. 2004.03. 022. ^ Jump up to : `` Nutrition facts for Brazil nuts, dried, unblanched, 100 g serving ''. nutritiondata.com. Conde Nast ; US Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database, version SR - 21. 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Jump up ^ `` Nuts, Brazil nuts, dried, unblanched per 100 grams ''. National Nutrient Database, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 24 July 2017. Jump up ^ Chang, Jacqueline C. ; Walter H. Gutenmann ; Charlotte M. Reid ; Donald J. Lisk ( 1995 ). `` Selenium content of Brazil nuts from two geographic locations in Brazil ''. Chemosphere. 30 ( 4 ) : 801 -- 802. PMID 7889353. doi : 10.1016 / 0045 - 6535 ( 94 ) 00409 - N. 0045 - 6535. Jump up ^ `` Commission Decision of 4 July 2003 imposing special conditions on the import of Brazil nuts in shell originating in or consigned from Brazil ''. Official Journal of the European Union. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Radioactivity in Nature ''. Idaho State University. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Jump up ^ `` Brazil Nuts ''. Oak Ridge Associated Universities. January 20, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2012. Jump up ^ Kornsteiner - Krenn M, Wagner KH, Elmadfa I ( 2013 ). `` Phytosterol content and fatty acid pattern of ten different nut types ''. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 83 ( 5 ) : 263 -- 70. PMID 25305221. doi : 10.1024 / 0300 - 9831 / a000168. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Ryan E, Galvin K, O'Connor TP, Maguire AR, O'Brien NM ( 2006 ). `` Fatty acid profile, tocopherol, squalene and phytosterol content of brazil, pecan, pine, pistachio and cashew nuts ''. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 57 ( 3 -- 4 ) : 219 -- 28. PMID 17127473. doi : 10.1080 / 09637480600768077. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Greenpeace Activists Trapped by Loggers in Amazon ''. Greenpeace. October 18, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2012. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bertholletia excelsa. Wikispecies has information related to : Bertholletia excelsa Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Brazil Nuts. Intensive harvests ' threaten Brazil nut tree future ' Nuts True, or botanical nuts Acorn Beech American beech European beech Breadnut Candlenut Chestnut Sweet chestnut Hazelnut American hazel Beaked hazel European hazel Filbert Asian hazel Johnstone River almond Kola nut Kurrajong Malabar chestnut Mongongo Palm nut Karuka Planted karuka Wild karuka Red bopple nut Yellow walnut Drupes Almond Australian cashew nut Betel nut Borneo tallow nut Breadfruit Cashew Chilean hazel Coconut Durian Gabon nut Hickory Mockernut hickory Pecan Shagbark hickory Shellbark hickory Irvingia gabonensis Jack nut Panda oleosa Pekea nut Pili nut Pistachio Walnut Black walnut Butternut English walnut Heartnut Gymnosperms Cycad Burrawang nut Ginkgo nut Araucaria spp. Bunya nut Monkey - puzzle nut Pine nut Chilgoza pine Colorado pinyon Korean pine Mexican pinyon Single - leaf pinyon Stone pine Angiosperms Brazil nut Macadamia Macadamia nut Queensland macadamia nut Paradise nut Peanut Peanut tree Soybean Non-timber forest products Animal products Furs Honey Pine honey Wild game Berries Tree fruit Blackberry Blueberry Bilberry Breadfruit Cocoa bean Coconut Durian Gambooge Huckleberry Jackfruit Juniper berry Lingonberry Raspberry Tamarind Woodland strawberry Edible plants / roots Betel Fiddlehead ferns Mahuwa flowers Sago palm queen Sassafras filé powder root beer Saw palmetto Wild ginseng Mushrooms Bare - toothed russula Bay bolete Birch bolete Cep Chanterelle Honey mushroom Lingzhi Matsutake Meadow mushroom Morel Oyster mushroom Parasol mushroom Red cap Saffron milk cap Slippery jack Truffle Yellow knight Nuts Spices Allspice Areca nut Bay leaf Black pepper Brazil nut Cinnamon Clove Hazelnut Malva nut Nutmeg Pine nut Vanilla Oil Waxes Carnauba Chaulmoogra ( Hydnocarpus wightiana ) Cocoa butter Eucalyptol Eucalyptus Japan wax Kokum Kusum Mahuwa Nagkesar Palm ( kernel ) Pongamia Phulwara Pilu Sal - seed ( Shorea robusta ) Sandalwood Shea butter Tea - seed Tea - tree Vateria indica Resins Benzoin Birch tar Camphor Creosote Frankincense Gamboge Kauri Lacquer Mastic Myrrh Pine tar Pitch Rosin Turpentine Varnish Sap / Gum / etc. Birch syrup Chicle chewing gum Coconut sugar Date sugar Fruit syrup Gum arabic Gutta - percha Kino Latex Maple sugar Maple syrup Palm sugar Palm wine akpeteshie ogogoro Rubber Spruce gum Other Bamboo edible musical instruments textiles Birch bark Birch beer Cork Ferns Forage Gambier Moss Natural dyes henna Peat Quinine Rattan Shellac Tanbark tannin Thatching Tendu leaves Willow bark Related Dehesa ( Iberian agroforestry ) Forest farming / gardening Honey hunting Indian forest produce Mushroom hunting Naval stores Permaforestry Resin extraction Rubber tapping Wildcrafting Forestry portal Trees portal Commons WikiProject Forestry Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brazil_nut&oldid=793678057 '' Categories : IUCN Red List vulnerable species Lecythidaceae Trees of the Amazon Edible nuts and seeds Trees of Brazil Trees of Bolivia Trees of Colombia Trees of Guyana Trees of Peru Trees of Venezuela Tropical agriculture Crops originating from South America Crops originating from Brazil Crops originating from Bolivia Crops originating from Peru Crops originating from Colombia Flora of the Amazon Vulnerable flora of South America Amazon oil Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter Use mdy dates from March 2014 Articles with ' species ' microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015 Articles needing additional references from November 2016 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikispecies Asturianu Català Cebuano Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Hornjoserbsce Italiano עברית Kurdî Latina Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Runa Simi Русский Slovenščina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt Winaray 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 3 August 2017, at 08 : 16. 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Question: which country is the most significant exporter of brazil nuts
Answer: Bolivia