Pao nuts, Cut nut, Navele
Barringtonia novae-hibernae

Family: Lecythidaceae

What it is like

The tree. It grows up to 6 or 8 metres tall. The trunk is often only 10-15 cm across and near the top the tree has a few short thick branches. The leaves are large and shiny. The leaves are crowded towards the end of branches. A leaf can be 50-60 cm long and 20-24 cm across. Near the tip of the leaf the edge is wavy and often slightly toothed, with the tip bent backwards. The veins of the leaf show up clearly on both sides of the leaf. The leaf stalk is only short, about 1 cm long. A long hanging yellow flower is produced from the branches. It can be 80 cm long and is densely covered with flowers. There can be up to 120 flowers along a stalk. The flowers do not have a scent. Along this the fruits form, giving a long hanging stalk of quite large nuts. The fruit are oval shaped and about 6-8 cm long by 3-4 cm across. The seed or nut inside the fruit has lines running along its surface. This edible part is about 3 cm long by 1-2 cm across and white coloured. The seed is flattened particularly on one side. Pao nut trees tend to flower and produce nuts throughout the year. There are some different kinds. The size and shape of the nuts can vary slightly. Also some are white inside and some are red. The most obvious difference is the colour of the outside of the fruit. Some kinds are green or slightly blue whereas other kinds are a dark reddish black. The nuts have a fairly hard shell and are split open with a knife. The white part in the centre is eaten raw. It also has a fairly hard texture.

There are about 40 Barringtonia species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. Trees grow in tropical coastal areas and up to about 600 m altitude. They occur in primary rainforest on rich alluvial soil. They grow naturally and are also planted. In Papua New Guinea it grows in the Huon Peninsula, Manus, New Britain, New Ireland and Bougainville.

Countries/locations it is found in

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

How it is used for food

The kernels inside the nuts are eaten raw or roasted. CAUTION The related plant Barringtonia asiatica (L) Kurz which grows along the foreshore is used as a fish poison.

A common and popular nut in some coastal areas of Papua New Guinea.

Edible parts

Nuts

How it is grown

Pao nut trees are mostly grown from seed. Several different races or types of pao nut have been selected by villagers and these trees seem to produce fruit that is similar to the seed that was planted. Trees can be grown from stem cuttings. Trees grown from cuttings have shorter trunks and branch closer to the ground.

If trees are planted in suitable sites and well looked after, they can produce fruit in a year or two. As pao nuts often do well and are most common on low off shore islands and coral waterfront villages, it may be particularly suited to coral and alkaline soils. This needs to be further studied. Flowering is not seasonal. Well grown trees can produce after one year.

Its other names

Local names

Ai ai, Aikenu, A pana kubar, A pana nasilsil, Arpo, Fa, Fala, Hala, Hansanae, Hara, Hari, Kapulpes, Kenu, Navele, Nevingen, Pao, Pau, Pohon putat utan, Sioko, Velingeh

Synonyms

Barringtonia brosimus Merr. & Perry; Barringtonia excelsa Guillaumin; Barringtonia oblongifolia R. Knuth;