Pequi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Caryocar brasiliense'', known as () or souari nut, is an edible
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
popular in some areas of
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, especially in Centerwestern Brazil.


Taxonomy

The pequi tree grows up to 10 m (30 ft) tall. It is common in the central
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian
cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
Melo (2001) from southern
Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
to
Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...
and northern
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
. Its leaves are large, tough, hairy and
palmate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...
, with three leaflets each. Unlike most other cerrado trees, it bears flowers in the dry winter months, approximately July to September. The yellowish-white flowers are
hermaphroditic A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...
and bear many
stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s; they somewhat resemble a huge pale St John's Wort flower (a distant relative among the Malpighiales). There are often two dozen or more flowers per
inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
.


Pollination

Pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...
is mainly by
bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
s and, as usual in such cases, the flowers do not have a pleasant smell but produce copious thin
nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
. Flowers open in the evening and produce nectar throughout the night, ceasing in the early morning. Each night's last nectar, produced around dawn, seems richer in
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
s than that produced in the night, though it is much less in quantity.
Moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
s, nocturnal
wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
s and
ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
s visit the flowers at night. The former two might do some pollinating but they are not known to be of major importance. During the day, the flowers are visited by
bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...
s and wasps which feed on remaining
pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...
. From dusk to the cessation of nectar production,
hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...
s may visit the flowers. While most of them only do this opportunistically, some species — e.g., the
fork-tailed woodnymph The fork-tailed woodnymph (''Thalurania furcata'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.HBW and BirdLife Internat ...
(''Thalurania furcata'') and in particular the
glittering-throated emerald The glittering-throated emerald (''Chionomesa fimbriata'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Trinidad and Venezuela.HBW ...
(''Chionomesa fimbriata'') — appear to visit pequi tree flowers on a regular basis. More significantly, visits by small "tanagers" of the
Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...
and
Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (sometimes referred to as "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply "cardinals") is a family of New World-Endemism, endemic passerine birds that consists of Cardinalis, cardinals, grosbeaks, and Passerina, buntings. It also includes several ot ...
families around dusk are noted. In particular species like the
guira tanager The guira tanager (''Hemithraupis guira'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subt ...
(''Hemithraupis guira''),
white-lined tanager The white-lined tanager (''Tachyphonus rufus'') is a medium-sized passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is a resident breeder from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina and on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Taxonomy The whit ...
(''Tachyphonus rufus'') and the
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...
(''Thraupis palmarum'') and
sayaca tanager The sayaca tanager (''Thraupis sayaca'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers. It is a common resident in northeastern, central, and southeastern Brazil ( or ), and Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina ...
s (''T. sayaca'') seem to be quite fond of pequi flower nectar and spend considerable time feeding on it when available. But even curl-crested jays (''Cyanocorax cristatellus'') have been observed to hang about flowering pequi trees at daybreak, though perhaps not just for the nectar, considering many insects attracted by it earlier would still be around on the tree. As the
stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...
dry out at daybreak, it is not clear whether birds, particularly tanagers, play a role in pollination or are merely making use of an easy early-morning snack, particularly considering that during the flowering season of ''C. brasiliense'', little such food is available.


Fruits

Fruits start off dark purple, turning olive green and finally
buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...
green as they ripen, taking about 5–6 months. Ripe fruits are about the size of an
orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
. They resemble a
mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to Island Southeast Asia, from the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. It has been cultivated extensively in tropical Asia ...
(another distantly related member of the Malpighiales) in having a few (usually 1-4) segments of
pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...
y
pericarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...
inside the skin, yellow and with a typical strong taste and smell mixing sweet, fruity and
cheesy Cheesy may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Cheesy'' (album), a 1993 album by En Esch * ''Cheesy'' (video game), a 1996 game for PlayStation *'' Cheesy Home Video'', a 1992 video by Primus Food *Cheese, a food derived from milk that i ...
aromas. This is derived mainly from volatile ethyl
ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...
s. Embedded in the mesocarp is a light-colored seed enclosed in a blackish shell covered with thin and tough woody spines, though spineless individuals exist in the wild. Both the mesocarp and the seed are edible for humans as well as many animals, including usually
carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
species like the
yellow-headed caracara The yellow-headed caracara (''Milvago chimachima'') is new-world bird of prey in the family (biology), family Falconidae, of the Falconiformes Order (biology), order (true falcons, caracaras and their kin). It is found as far north as Nicaragua, ...
(''Milvago chimachima'').


Use by humans and status

Pequi pulp is a very popular food in
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...
,
Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...
,
Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...
and
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
, eaten by itself raw or prepared or used as an ingredient in cooking or to flavor
beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...
s. Pequi with rice and chicken is an especially popular preparation. Pequi pulp will tarnish
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
cutlery and, if eaten raw, the fruit is best enjoyed out of hand. Care must be taken to gently scrape the pulp off the pit using one's teeth: The spines can detach and hurt the mouth, causing considerable pain and being difficult to remove. The pits with spines and remaining pulp can be left to dry in the sun for two days or so. Afterwards, the spines can be scraped off with a knife or stick, and the pit can be cracked open to extract the seed. From the latter, the edible pequi oil is extracted commercially. They can also be roasted like
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...
s and eaten with salt as a rich snack. Nearly every part of the tree is usable for food, medical or construction purposes. Pequi occupies an important role in the culture of indigenous people in Brazil's Cerrado region. Traditionally, rural Brazilians plant pequi trees around villages; the seeds take a long time to germinate so that new trees must be planted every so often for the supply not to cease. Demand for the fruit has risen in recent decades while
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
has been destroyed, putting the stocks under strain. One report writes:
"The pequi is the main symbol of this de-structuring of the economy. The pequi is habitually consumed by the population in the Cerrado zone and is deeply rooted in the regional culture and cooking. For the Mineiros, the Cerrado inhabitants of Minas Gerais, the pequi does not belong to anyone, because it belongs to all. Therefore, they maintain their ancestral right to take it wherever it is, in public or private land, fenced in land or unfenced land, etc., wherever it is, the pequi was always "accessible" to the regional society."


Ecological relevance

Given the importance of bats and perhaps birds for pollination, removal of native woodland is liable to have long-term negative impacts on fruit yield even if no ''C. brasiliense'' trees are physically harmed. This is true for other native pollinators, such as ''
Melipona quadrifasciata ''Melipona quadrifasciata'' is a species of eusocial, stingless bee of the order Hymenoptera. It is native to the southeastern coastal states of Brazil, where it is more commonly known as :pt:Mandaçaia, mandaçaia, which means "beautiful guard, ...
'' and '' Scaptotrigona postica'', because they nest in pequi trees, commonly building nests in the hollows of the trees. Conserving pollinator habitat is probably crucial for rich yields of the valuable fruits and other produce.


Footnotes


References

* (2001): Diurnal bird visiting of ''Caryocar brasiliense'' Camb. in Central Brazil. '' Revista Brasileira de Biologia'' 61(2): 311-316. PDF fulltext
* (2006): Notas sobre aves de rapina (Cathartidae, Acciptridae e Falconidae) brasileiras otes on Brazilian birds of prey ''Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia'' 14(4): 401-404 ortuguese with English abstractbr>PDF fulltext
* (2002)

''In

'. World Rainforest Movement.


External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3411901 brasiliense Flora of Brazil Edible nuts and seeds Fruit trees Taxa named by Jacques Cambessedes Cuisine of Goiás