Lecythis pisonis Cambess.

A large tree. It grows 30-40 m tall. The leaves are pink when young. The leaves fall during the year. The leaves are simple and alternate. They are 12-24 cm long. The flowers occur in very large numbers. They are small and rose-purple. The fruit is woody like a Brazil nut fruit. It contains several large seeds. There are 14-40 seeds per fruit. The fruit ripen over 11-12 months. The fruit then split open spilling the seed on the ground.

Fertile flood plains in the rainforest. Often found in groups, particularly in sunny positions on tops of hills. Found in all sorts of soil conditions. Usually found in dense primary forest, occasionally in more open situations.

The seeds are eaten raw or cooked. They are shelled and eaten raw or roasted or boiled.

The plants are grown from seed. The fruit are harvested when ripe. They can be ripened in the sun. Fresh seed should be planted. They germinate in 40-70 days.