Brazilian seed and friar’s elbow

Brazil seed

It comes from a tree known as Bertholletia excelsa that belongs to the Lecythidaceae family, it is native to South America and endemic to the Amazon. Its seeds are edible and are known as the Amazon nut, the chestnut, or the Brazilian seed.

This tree is unique in its species and grows in groups of up to 100 specimens or, dispersed among themselves, in very well-drained soils in the forests of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Negro river basins.

It is a large tree that grows to 50 m tall. Its trunk is up to 2 m in diameter and can live for more than 500 years. Its trunk is straight and unbranched. Its bark is grayish and smooth.

The fruit every 15 months to mature from the pollination of the flowers and is 15 cm in diameter and can weigh up to 2 kg. Inside it keeps between 8 and 24 crescent-shaped seeds that are 5 cm long.

The capsule that contains the seeds has a hole on the outside that allows rodents such as agoutis to open it and consume it. Some seeds remain hidden take advantage of the fact that the agouti buries them to eat them later to germinate a year later.

They have a delicate flavor and are a great source of selenium and unsaturated fats. It is also one of the most radioactive foods because it accumulates radium and barium. Its consumption is harmless in small quantities.

Friar’s elbow

It is known as the Coyote Tree and its scientific name is Thevetia peruviana and it belongs to the Apocynaceae family. It is a shrub that can reach 8 m in height, has linear, bright green leaves and yellow or light orange flowers. It blooms at intervals for most of the year. In cool climates, it blooms in summer.

The fruits are rounded fleshy drupes with ribs that, when ripe, change from green to red and then to black. They are toxic and have been used for hundreds of years by Chinese medicine for their properties to burn fat, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides. It can cause intoxication, diarrhea, dehydration, and vascular failure.

Internationally it is marketed as Indian Nut or Brazil Seed but they are two completely different seeds.

suggested video:  Brazilian Seed and Friar’s Elbow

Difference between Brazilian Seed and Friar’s Elbow

• The seed of Brazil It comes from the Amazon and is endemic to this area.
• Fraile’s elbow is found in much of the world and can grow in cool environments.
• The Brazilian seed has a crescent shape and is found inside a very hard fruit with a brown rind.
• The friar’s elbow gives rise to a green drupe that, when ripe, turns red and black.
• The Brazilian seed is toxic due to its high content of selenium, as 100 g of this seed far exceeds the necessary dose of selenium in our body. Long-term use can cause an accumulation of radium. It is a radioactive seed.
• Friar’s elbow is toxic and can cause severe diarrhea.