Plant · P-732

African Walnut

Plukenetia conophora

African Walnut is a fast-growing evergreen vine of humid tropical rainforest, grown for an oil-rich seed usually boiled or roasted and served alongside corn on the cob - eaten raw it turns bitter, in the manner of kola. The pressed seed yields a light golden oil so rich in linolenic acid that it dries faster than linseed oil, making it a traditional ingredient in paint and varnish as well as in cooking. It needs something to climb and shows no tolerance for frost, growing only in the lowland and mid-elevation rainforest of west and central Africa. Boiling the seed too long oxidizes that oil, so slow roasting keeps it in far better condition.