While it's not one of the main nuts grown in the United States, it's a fascinating plant with unusual fruits. Of the many imposing trees in the rainforest, Brazil's walnut (Bertholletia excelsa) is one of the most intriguing. The tree is best cultivated in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 11 and above.
UU. No, Brazil nuts are not grown in the United States. Brazil nuts come from the South American country of Brazil. The walnut tree from Brazil is the only species in the genus Lecythis.
The Brazilian walnut tree grows to a height of about 50 to 80 feet and is found in the Amazon rainforest. Despite its name, the biggest exporter of nuts in Brazil is actually Bolivia, where the nut is called Brazil nut. Walnuts from Brazil first arrived in the United States in the early 19th century and, just like in Europe, it was some time before they achieved the kind of popularity that would bring them to those omnipresent cans of mixed nuts found on the shelves of grocery stores. The Brazilian nut comes from the Bertholletia excelsa tree, which is found throughout the Amazon rainforest, an area that covers approximately 2.7 million square miles in South America, which extends across northwestern Brazil and reaches Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.
Both Bolivia and Brazil are rural countries with a significant number of people who collect and sell nuts from Brazil as their main source of income. A well-cultivated Brazil nut tree produces creamy white flowers and huge segmented fruits that are full of edible nuts. The Brazilian walnut tree is listed as a threatened species by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, and is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As a snack, Brazil nuts are generally considered healthy because of their high fiber and protein content.
Due to deforestation and habitat destruction, Brazil's walnut tree is critically endangered in the Amazon. Because of this, although attempts have been made to plant trees in Brazil, natural cultivation has proven to be more reliable. The Brazilian walnut tree, also known as Bertholletia Excelsa, is one of the largest and longest-living organisms in the Amazon rainforest. Brazil's nut trees are large trees with a trunk diameter ranging from 1 to 2 meters (3.3 to 6.6 feet) and a height that ranges from 50 meters (160 feet) to 100 meters.
Brazil's nut trees are members of the Cashewaceae family, which is a collection of a single genus, the cashew tree. The tree can be found in abundance throughout the Amazon, in areas that are not prone to floods, such as Guayanas, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Only a few animals can open the walnut tree in Brazil, and the agouti is the only one capable of doing so. Each pod contains ten to twenty Brazil nuts, or orange-shaped spheres, within which ten to twenty seeds are arranged.
Brazil's nut trees, which are native to the Amazon rainforest, grow to 150 feet (45 m) tall and produce nuts for centuries.
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