''Caryocar'' (souari trees) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s, in the

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Caryocaraceae described as a genus by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...

in 1771. It is native primarily to South America with a few species extending into Central America and the West Indies.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> ''Caryocar'' consists of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s that yield a strong

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...

. Some of the species within the genus ''Caryocar'' have edible

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

s, called souari-nuts or sawarri-nuts.Hoehne (1946) The most well-known species is probably the Pekea-nut (''C. nuciferum''). In

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

the

Pequi ''Caryocar brasiliense'', known as pequi (, ) or "souari nut", like its congeners, is an edible fruit popular in some areas of Brazil, especially in Centerwestern Brazil. Taxonomy The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It i ...

(''C. brasiliense'') is most popular; it has a variety of uses, not the least among them being the production of

pequi oil Pequi oil is a seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the '' Caryocar brasiliense'', which is native to Brazil. The pale yellow mesocarp oil is extracted and used directly as a cooking oil. In Brazil, there are projects among indigenous people group ...

. Furthermore, some species are used by

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s to produce

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

s for hunting. ;Species # '' Caryocar amygdaliferum'' Mutis - Colombia, Panama # '' Caryocar amygdaliforme'' G.Don - Ecuador, N Peru # ''

Caryocar brasiliense ''Caryocar brasiliense'', known as pequi (, ) or "souari nut", like its congeners, is an edible fruit popular in some areas of Brazil, especially in Centerwestern Brazil. Taxonomy The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It ...

'' A.St.-Hil. - Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay # '' Caryocar coriaceum'' Wittm. - N Brazil # '' Caryocar costaricense'' Donn.Sm. - Costa Rica # '' Caryocar cuneatum'' Wittm. - Brazil # '' Caryocar dentatum'' Gleason - NW Brazil, Bolivia # '' Caryocar edule'' Casar. -

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

# ''

Caryocar glabrum ''Caryocar glabrum'' is a species of tree in the family Caryocaraceae. It is native to South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion ...

'' (Aubl.) Pers. - French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil # '' Caryocar microcarpum'' Ducke - Lesser Antilles, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia # '' Caryocar montanum'' Prance - Guyana, Bolívar,

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

# '' Caryocar nuciferum'' L. - Pekea-nut, Butter-nut of Guinea -

St. Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, St. Vincent, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, N Brazil # '' Caryocar pallidum'' A.C.Sm. - NW Brazil, S Venezuela, Bolivia # '' Caryocar villosum'' (Aubl.) Pers. - French Guiana, Venezuela, N Brazil, Colombia

References

External links

* (1946). ''Frutas Indígenas'' n Portuguese Instituto de Botânica da Secretaria de Agricultura, Indústria e Comércio de

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

.
photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Panama, ''Caryocar amygdaliferum''photo of ''Caryocar costaricense'', taken in Costa Rica by Reinaldo Aguilar
Malpighiales genera {{Malpighiales-stub