Plant · P-564

Brazil Nut

Bertholletia excelsa

Brazil Nut is an emergent rainforest giant that produces one of the most nutrient-dense nuts sold anywhere, exceptionally rich in selenium. A planted tree only bears where large-bodied orchid bees live nearby to pollinate it - without them, and without the native forest that sustains those bees, it flowers but never fruits. It takes 12 to 16 years to bear, or about 8 with good management, and needs shade as a seedling before switching to full sun as an adult. Nuts grown on barium-rich soil can absorb enough of the metal to become unsafe to eat, a risk that comes from the ground rather than from the tree itself.