Cream nut facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cream nut |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Lecythis
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| Species: |
pisonis
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Lecythis pisonis, also known as the cream nut or monkey pot tree, is a cool tropical tree. It belongs to the same family as the Brazil nut, called Lecythidaceae. In its home in tropical America, people often call it sapucaia or castanha-de-sapucaia. This tree grows a special fruit that looks a lot like a cooking pot. Inside this pot-shaped fruit, you'll find seeds that are safe to eat!
Contents
What Does the Monkey Pot Tree Look Like?
The Lecythis pisonis is a big, tall tree that loses its leaves every year (we call this deciduous). It has a round, dome-shaped top with lots of leaves. This tree can grow as tall as 30 metres (98 ft), which is like a ten-story building! Its trunk has branches that reach upwards and greyish bark that has many cracks.
When new leaves first appear, they are pink. Later, they turn a medium green with small dark spots. The leaves feel tough and are shaped like long ovals with a clear middle vein and bumpy edges.
Flowers and Fruits
In September and October, the tree grows flowers in clusters called racemes at the ends of its branches. These flowers are usually purple, but sometimes they can be white. They have six petals and a golden center made of many tiny parts called stamens. Bees really love these flowers!
The fruits are round or oval, cinnamon-colored, and very woody. They can be 6 to 15 cm (2.4 to 5.9 in) long and 8.5 to 30 cm (3.3 to 11.8 in) wide. The fruit has a rough outer shell, called a pericarp, which can be up to 3 cm (1.2 in) thick. It also has a lid that fits very tightly. When the fruit is ready, this lid bursts open!
Inside, the seeds are red or brown, oval-shaped, and can be up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long. It takes a long time for the fruits to ripen, about 11 to 12 months.
Where Does the Monkey Pot Tree Grow?
The Lecythis pisonis tree grows naturally in the warm, wet rainforests of eastern tropical America. It is especially common in Brazil.
How Do People Use the Monkey Pot Tree?
People often plant Lecythis pisonis as a beautiful ornamental tree because of its pretty pink new leaves and purple flowers at different times of the year.
Edible Nuts
The nuts from this tree are edible, which means you can eat them! You can enjoy them raw or cooked. Scientists have studied the nuts and found that they have a lot of healthy fats, similar to corn oil. However, they also contain some natural heavy metals. Scientists are still studying if having too much of these metals could be a problem for people, so they are careful about how much is eaten.
Animals also love to eat these nuts. The tree got its nickname "monkey pot" from an old saying: "a wise old monkey doesn't stick its hand into a pot." This saying refers to how young, inexperienced monkeys might put their whole hand into the fruit to grab a lot of nuts at once, but then can't pull their fist out! An older, smarter monkey, however, will take the nuts out one by one.
See also
In Spanish: Lecythis pisonis para niños
