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Macadamia
Also called Macadamias
Macadamia is a genus of four evergreen tree species from eastern Australia, of which two (mainly M. integrifolia and M. tetraphylla) are grown commercially for their prized nuts. Commercial orchards need fertile, well-drained soil and a warm, frost-free climate, and trees take 7 to 10 years to bear.
Macadamia is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia—specifically, northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland. Two species of the genus are commercially important for their fruit, the macadamia nut (or simply macadamia). Global production in 2025 was 344,000 tonnes (379,000 short tons). Other names include Queensland nut, bush nut, maroochi nut or bauple nut. It was an important source of bushfood for the Aboriginal peoples.
The nut was first commercially produced on a wide scale in Hawaii, where Australian seeds were introduced in the 1880s, and which for more than a century was the world's largest producer. South Africa has been the world's largest producer of the macadamia since the 2010s.
The macadamia tree is usually propagated by grafting. It does not begin to produce commercial quantities of seeds until it is 7–10 years old, but once established, it may continue bearing for over 100 years. Macadamias prefer fertile, well-drained soils, a rainfall of 1,000–2,000 mm (40–80 in), and temperatures not falling below 10 °C (50 °F) (although once established, they can withstand light frosts), with an optimum temperature of 25 °C (80 °F). The roots are shallow, and trees can be blown down in storms; like most Proteaceae, they are also susceptible to Phytophthora root disease. As of 2019, the macadamia nut is the most expensive nut in the world, which is attributed to the slow harvesting process.
Nuts from M. jansenii and M. ternifolia contain cyanogenic glycosides.
Macadamia nut · Jansen's Macadamia · Maroochy Nut · Macadamia nut
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Macadamia 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.
