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Caryodendron orinocense
Tacaynut (Caryodendron orinocense), also called cacay or inchi, is a large evergreen tree from the Orinoco and Amazon basins, grown mainly for its edible oil-rich nuts. It needs a warm, humid, frost-free climate with good drainage and is a poor fit for pots.
Caryodendron orinocense, commonly known as cacay, inchi or orinoconut, is an evergreen tree belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae.
This species of flowering plant is indigenous to the north-west of South America, particularly from the drainage basins of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers located in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Originally described by Hermann Karsten in 1858, the cacay tree distinguishes itself by its dense and leafy top, as well as its production of fruits, each one containing three edible nuts. Cacay is notable for the oil extracted from its nuts, which is edible and is also used in cosmetics.
Under natural conditions, the reproduction of cacay is sexual; its seeds germinate well on the ground, one to two weeks after falling from the tree. The species' seeds are recalcitrant, as the seeds quickly lose their viability when under storage. A study conducted in 2012 by Judith García and Carmen Basso concluded that cacay seeds tolerate up to eight days of storage before losing viability, preferably in temperatures of 12–13 °C (54–55 °F).
The species can also reproduce through vegetative (asexual) means, especially through grafting, which is commonly used in cacay farming. Conversely, propagation by plant cutting does not yield satisfactory results, as even when the plant shows callus growth, it does not produce any new development of roots or buds.
Cacay is an indigenous species to the drainage basins of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers, and can be found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. In Colombia, cacay is distributed across the Piedemonte llanero in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains. It is also found in the watershed of the Magdalena River. The species has been reported in five Colombian departments (Antioquia, Caquetá, Cundinamarca, Meta, Putumayo) with influence over three Colombian natural regions (Andean, Orinoquía or Eastern Plains, and Amazon). In Venezuela, the plant grows in the states of Apure, Lara, y Barinas. Cacay can also be found in Ecuador, Peru and Brazil in the western part of the Amazon river watershed.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Caryodendron orinocense by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
