Candle Nut

Plant Description

Botanical Name: Aleurites moluccana.
This plant is a large rainforest tree with a spreading crown. It has large leaves; the juveniles are lobed. Clusters of 50 mm brown fruit ripen in summer. It is also found in South East Asia.

Usage

The nuts can be poisonous when raw, causing violent vomiting. In 1999 the media reported that a child became ill after eating raw candlenuts in a park in Brisbane. However others have eaten them raw without ill effects. Roasting destroys the toxin in the oil which causes these effects. The roasted nuts are delicious, and are reported to be nutritious and high in energy from the fat they contain. They can be used to tenderise meat.

It is used in Indonesian cooking - usually ground to a paste.
However particular trees produce a nut which has a high cyanide content, and if many roasted nuts are eaten at a time, they can cause stomach cramps and vomiting, so suitable selection methods need to be applied. However others report no ill effects.

Because of the high oil content, the nuts will burn with a smoky flame, hence their common name and use by early settlers.

Very little use is being made of these fruits in the modern Bush Foods industry, although some of us who have tasted them and can obtain the fruits will continue to relish the roasted product.

Candle Nut or Aleurites moluccana.

Candle Nut leaves and fruits.