Bertholletia excelsa
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID644026f21c4e5153574481 |
| Scientific name | Bertholletia excelsa |
| Authority | Bonpl. |
| First published in | Pl. Aequinoct. 1: 122 (1808) |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Brazil nut kernels (raw or roasted) and Brazil nut oil are the principal commercial products of Bertholletia excelsa. Kernels are widely used in confectionery, desserts, baked goods, granola, and chocolate. Shells, which are hard and lignocellulosic, are used as activated carbon and as a granular sorbent and mulch; they also serve as a fuel and for carbonization.
Industrial and craft applications:
Shells are processed into activated carbon for filtration and adsorption. The carbonized product is employed as a filtering medium for gases and water; granular shell chars are used in waste gas/wastewater treatment. Shells are also burned as fuel and utilized as horticultural mulch and in abrasives for polishing.
Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
Kernels are sold as in-shell or shelled nuts for direct consumption and ingredient use in confectionery, ice cream, pastries, and snacks. Brazil nut oil is produced by mechanical pressing for culinary use in dressings and light sautéing; solvent-extracted refining is commercially practiced for flavor-neutral oil suitable for larger-scale applications. Kernel and oil are regulated as foods under national legislation.
Colorants and tanning:
Shells yield brown natural dyes for protein fibers (e.g., wool, silk). Shells and husk contain tannins used for tanning leather. Studies report shells yield brown dyes suitable for natural-fiber dyeing, and the shells/husk are effective tannins for leather tanning.
Wood and fiber:
The wood is dense, durable, and suitable for flooring, carpentry, and construction. Use is limited by conservation concerns and restricted access; sustainable management plans govern legal timber flow. There are no documented non-wood fiber uses for this species.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
Brazil nut oil is used in cosmetic formulations for hair and skin products; it is supplied by food-grade nut processors to cosmetics manufacturers. No essential oil or volatile-fragrance uses are reported for this taxon.
Properties relevant to use:
Kernels have high oil content and produce a fixed oil with fatty-acid composition suitable for edible and cosmetic uses; refining yields neutral flavors. Shells are dense, lignocellulosic, and suitable for activation to produce high-surface-area carbon with effective adsorption performance. Shell tannin extracts show crosslinking and protein-binding properties useful in leather tanning.
Standards and regulation:
Brazil nut kernels and oil are subject to national food safety and labeling standards. Activated carbon from shells follows conventional activated-carbon specifications for iodine number, methylene blue adsorption, and moisture/ash limits (common ASTM D5463; ISO 13503). Timber use is regulated under national forestry codes and CITES/Directions for forest product trade depending on national listing.
Sustainability and sourcing:
Seeds are wild-harvested from natural forests, with production concentrated in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Populations are vulnerable to habitat loss and overharvest, and market access is often linked to forest conservation through certified schemes and biodiversity-friendly production. Sustainable harvest guidelines and community-based forest management are emphasized to maintain long-term yield and ecosystem integrity.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Barthollesia excelsa | Silva Manso | Enum. Subst. Braz. 45. 1836 (1836) |
| Bertholletia nobilis | Miers | Trans. Linn. Soc. London 30: 197 (1874) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | brazil-nut tree |
| English | brazilnut |
| English | para nut |
| English | brazil nut |
| Spanish | turury |
| Spanish | barthollesia |
| Spanish | castana de brasil |
| Spanish | castaña de brasil |
| Spanish | castana de monte |
| Spanish | castaña de monte |
| Spanish | castanas de brasil |
| Spanish | castañas de brasil |
| Spanish | castano del brasil |
| Spanish | castaño del brasil |
| Spanish | nueces de brasil |
| Spanish | nuez de brasil |
| Spanish | nuez del brasil |
| Arabic | شجرة الجوز البرازيلي |
| Arabic | جوز برازيلي |
| Bulgarian | бразилски орех |
| Catalan | nous del brasil |
| Catalan | nou del brasil |
| Catalan | noguera del brasil |
| Czech | brazilský ořech |
| Czech | juviový ořech |
| Czech | para ořech |
| Czech | paraořech |
| Czech | juvie ztepilá |
| Danish | paranødder |
| Danish | paranød |
| German | amazonaskastanie |
| German | amazonasmandel |
| German | amazonenmandel |
| German | brasilianische kastanie |
| German | brasilianische nuss |
| German | brasilkastanie |
| German | brasilnuss |
| German | castanha-do-brasil |
| German | castanha-do-pará |
| German | juvianuss |
| German | marahonkastanie |
| German | papanuss |
| German | paranuss |
| German | paranuß |
| German | rahmnuss |
| German | tucannuss |
| German | yuvianuss |
| German | paranussbaum |
| Esperanto | bertoletio |
| Estonian | kõrge parapähklipuu |
| Estonian | parapähklipuu |
| Persian | فندقی برزیلی |
| Finnish | parapähkinä |
| Finnish | parapähkinäpuu |
| French | noix du brésil |
| French | châtaignier du brésil |
| French | noix brésilienne |
| French | noix d'amazonie |
| French | noix du bresil |
| French | noyer du brésil |
| French | noyer brésilien |
| French | noyer d'amazonie |
| Irish | cnó brasaíleach |
| Galician | castiñeiro de pará |
| gn | tururi |
| Hebrew | ברזיל |
| Hebrew | אגוז ברזיל |
| Hebrew | אגוז ברזילאי |
| Upper Sorbian | wulki paraworjechowc |
| Hungarian | paradió |
| Indonesian | kacang brasil |
| Italian | noce del brasile |
| Japanese | ブラジルナッツ |
| Korean | 브라질넛 |
| ku | panoz |
| ku | paranos |
| ku | paranoz |
| ku | panos |
| Lithuanian | bertoletija |
| Lithuanian | kastanija |
| Lithuanian | brazilinė bertoletija |
| Latvian | brazīlijas rieksts (augs) |
| Latvian | brazīlijas riekstu koks |
| Latvian | augstā bertolēcija |
| Macedonian | бразилски орев |
| Malayalam | ബ്രസീൽ നട്ട് |
| Malay | kacang brazil |
| Norwegian Bokmål | brasilnøtt |
| Norwegian Bokmål | paranøtter |
| Norwegian Bokmål | paranøtt |
| Dutch | amazonianoot |
| Dutch | brazielnoot |
| Dutch | paranoot |
| Polish | bertolecja |
| Polish | orzesznica brazylijska |
| Polish | orzesznica wyniosła |
| Portuguese | castanha do pará |
| Portuguese | castanha-do-brasil |
| Portuguese | castanha-do-pará |
| Portuguese | castanheira-do-pará |
| Quechua | kastaña |
| Russian | Бертолетия |
| Russian | Бразильские орехи |
| Russian | Американские орехи |
| Russian | Бертолетия высокая |
| Russian | Бертолеция |
| Russian | Кастанейро |
| Russian | бразильский орех |
| Serbo-Croatian | brazilski orah |
| Slovenian | brazilski oreh |
| Slovenian | brazilski orešček |
| Slovenian | bertolecija |
| Swedish | paranötssläktet |
| Swedish | paranötter |
| Swedish | paranöt |
| Tamil | பிரேசில் கொட்டை |
| Thai | บราซิลนัต |
| Turkish | brezilya fındığı |
| Ukrainian | Бразильський горіх |
| xmf | ბრაზილიური თხირი |
| Chinese | 巴西栗 |
| Chinese | 鲍鱼果 |
| Chinese | 巴西坚果 |
| Chinese | 巴西果 |
| Chinese | 巴西栗屬 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Pacific click to expand
-
Northwestern Pacific
- Caroline Islands
-
Northwestern Pacific
-
Southern America click to expand
-
Brazil
- Brazil North
- Brazil West-central
-
Northern South America
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Suriname
- Venezuela
-
Western South America
- Bolivia
- Colombia
-
Brazil
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000775013 |
| UNII | Z945IQ8X82 |
| USDA Plants | BEEX2 |
| Tropicos | 17900013 |
| INPN | 629163 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:591270-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-313577 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 429489 |
| Observations.org | 520750 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 3645 |
| IUCN Red List | 32986 |
| IPNI | 591270-1 |
| iNaturalist | 145603 |
| GBIF | 3083180 |
| Freebase | /m/01qrvs |
| EPPO | BTHEX |
| EOL | 321258 |
| Elurikkus | 364759 |
| USDA GRIN | 7022 |
| Wikipedia | Brazil_nut |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_039639745.1 | Bnut_1.0 | Chromosome | Computational Genomics Laboratory - University of Brasilia (UnB) - Brazil | 2024-05-14 | 180 | 571.62 Mb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
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If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Triterpenoids | |||||
| Betulinic Acid | 64971 | Click to see | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FITOTE.2004.09.008 |
| Lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid, 3beta-hydroxy- | 2371 | Click to see | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FITOTE.2004.09.008 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |