Finschia nut
Finschia chloroxantha

Family: Proteaceae

What it is like

A tree up to 24-30 m tall with adventitious roots up to 1.5 m above the ground. The wood is red brown and strong. Leaves are long (25 cm) and narrow (5 cm) and without hairs. The leaves are often clustered near the ends of branches so that the tree does not have a dense covering of leaves. The leaves can be 25 cm by 10 cm in size and have a vein around the edge joining the other leaf veins. The flowers occur is a long cluster up to 30 cm long and are bright orange in colour. They hang below the leaves and on the older wood. The flowers have both male and female parts in the same flower. The nuts are round and 2.5 cm by 3 cm across and brown. They have a sharp point on one side. The outside of the fruit is soft but there is a hard shell inside with one large edible seed. Flowers are rusty brown in long strings up to 20 cm long. Fruit are about 5 cm across. They have one seed inside. The nuts are round and 2.5 cm by 3 cm across and brown.

Because this tree is regarded as a valuable nut the tree is rarely cut down but the timber is a good hard and attractive timber.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. Trees occur in lowland and mountain areas throughout Papua New Guinea up to about 1800 m altitude. They are usually in well drained primary forest. They also occur in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Indonesia (Papua), Pacific (country/location of origin), Palau, Papua New Guinea, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

How it is used for food

The kernels of the fruit are eaten. The hard shell is broken by burning after cooking.

A quite important nut tree in several areas of Papua New Guinea.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds

How it is grown

Trees are planted from seed but also grow wild. Seeds often germinate slowly. The fruit is harvested when ripe and roasted to crack the shell to obtain the edible kernel. The seeds are cooked and eaten.

Trees flower from December to March and nuts are available from March to August. The seeds can be 3-4 g weight.

Its other names

Local names

Akama, Glama, Lenge, Mbrein, N'gye, Nyio neo, Pani, Quruqasa, Sauge, Togtua, Ugkom, Wagiam

Synonyms

Finschia densiflora (C. T. White) C. T. White ex F. S. Walker; Finschia micronesica (Kaneh.) Kaneh.; Finschia waterhousiana Burtt; Grevillea chloroxantha (Diels) Sleumer; Grevillea densiflora Diels; Grevillea elaeocarpifolia Guillaumin; Helicia micronesia Kaneh.;