They're Similar To, But Not Quite Brazil Nut Trees

[brahmburgers]

I bought 10 of these trees, 9 years ago. The seller said they were Brazil nuts. Having never seen a Brazil nut tree, I took her word for it, but now it's clear they're not Brazil nuts. However, they have a pod like a B.nut. The pod gets picked when it starts to get blackish. It's about softball sized and has between 8 and 13 nuts, very easy to access, and the nuts are easy to shell. They're about the size of a hazelnut, roughly 1.5 to 2 cm from end to end - tasty and nutritious.

They're an attractive evergreen, and grow very well in my garden in northernmost Thailand. They produce most of the year. The nuts shown in the photo are part of a 2nd crop of the year, so they're a bit smaller than its first crop which came along in summertime.

Thailand has a dearth of native nuts, so these guys (I call them Brazil Noi, until I find their real name), ...these guys would be a great addition to Thailand's markets. I've never seen them for sale in Thailand or anywhere. I've sold some plants in past years, and plan to sell more in coming years. Also, they don't take long to yield. I've got 2nd generation trees, grown from seed from my earlier trees, which are already yielding, just 6 years after being planted.

Wanted to get a photo of a flower, but couldn't find any yesterday. For the record, they're light yellow with v. long stamens and lovely smell of sweet water.

Edited January 8, 2010 by brahmburgers

[keeniau96]

Looks like a good shade tree as well as the nut product. I would not mind having some, say 4-6 for my garden (1 rai of fairly low-quality land, mostly tropical weathering coarse clayey sand/gravel above eroded granite). Where can I get such plants?

[Nottelmann]

Pachira aquatica - a Guinea Chestnut

[maidu]

more precisely: pachira glabra