Skittle Nut
Allantoma lineata

Family: Lecythidaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tree. It grows about 10 m tall. The leaves are narrow or sword shaped and 10-29 cm long by 5-11 cm wide. The edges can be wavy. The fruit is a capsule with a lid. It is cylinder shaped and 7-18 cm long by 4-6 cm wide. It has irregular cracks on the outside. The lid opening is 5-12 cm long. The seeds are long and narrow. They are 5-6 cm long.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows near the edges of rivers in the Amazon in Venezuela.

Countries/locations it is found in

Amazon, Brazil, Guyana, South America, Venezuela

How it is used for food

The seeds are eaten.

Edible parts

Seeds, nuts

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seeds. The seeds are collected from ripe fruit off the tree then dried in the sun to enable the seeds to be removed. Seeds need to be planted fresh, preferably in light shade. Seedlings emerge in 40-50 days.

Plants grow rapidly.

Its other names

Local names

Ceru, Cheru, Churu, Tabari, Xuru

Synonyms

Couratari lineata Martius ex Berg.; Couratari macrocarpa Martius ex Berg.; Allantoma macrocarpa (Martius ex Berg.) Miers; Couratari aulacocarpa Martius ex Berg.; Allantoma aulacocarpa (Martius ex Berg.) Miers; Couratari dictyocarpa Martius ex Berg.; Allantoma dictyocarpa (Martius ex Berg.) Miers; Allantoma torulosa Miers; Allantoma cylindrica Miers; Allantoma burchelliana Miers; Allantoma scutellata Miers; Allantoma cornula Miers; Goeldinia ovatifolia Huber; Goeldinia riparia Huber; Allantoma dilatata Knuth; Allantoma caudata Knuth;