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Licania rigida
Also called Oiticica
Microdesmia rigida (Licania rigida), known as oiticica, is a tree from Brazil that can reach about 15 m and is grown mainly for its oil-rich seeds. Its key feature is that it thrives in floodplains and along riverbanks.
Microdesmia rigida, synonym Licania rigida, the oiticica, is a species of plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It is endemic to Brazil. The oiticica grows deep in floods of rivers and streams, forming long, narrow avenues to the edge of ravines or floodplains staining the dark-green color of its large and dense foliage.
The oiticica nuts are used to make oiticica oil (Brazil). Oiticica oil finds limited use as a substitute for tung oil or linseed oil when the price of either of these products prohibit their use. Oiticica oil is much darker in color and is susceptible to transforming into a pasty, semi-solid state at room temperature. This requires heating prior to use.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Microdesmia rigida 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.
