Caryocar brasiliense Cambess.

A medium sized tree. It grows 6-10 m tall. The trunk is twisted. The trunk is 20-30 cm across. The leaves are alternate. The leaves are made up of 3 leaflets. The leaflets are not equal on each half of the leaf. They are hairy. The flowers occur as 5-15 together. The fruit is green. The fruit is 4-5 cm across. It has 1-4 stones (nuts) covered by a yellow pulp. The surface of the fruit/nut is covered with very small spines and these have to be avoided. There are 2 subspecies.

Forms pure groves in the plateaux and valleys of the savannah, elsewhere it is usually found as scattered individuals. Found in both primary and secondary formations.

The pulp of the fruit is chewed raw. They are also cooked. The nut is chewed raw. The fruit is eaten fresh or used for sweets and liqueur. The fleshy covered pit or stone is cooked with rice to add flavour to the rice.

Plants are grown from seed. The ripe fruit are harvested and allowed to open in the sun. The pits are dried. They can only be stored for a short time. The fresh pits with seeds inside are soaked in water for 48 hours changing the water every 12 hours. The seed germinate in 30-50 days.