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BRAZIL NUT TREE

brazil nut tree photo

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Many people are familiar with Brazil nuts, which come from a large rainforest tree (Bertholletia excelsa). The nuts, locally called "Castana," are cultivated throughout lowland Amazonia and are an important source of income for local people. The nuts grow inside a large grapefruit-sized pod, arranged like segments of an orange, about 12 to a pod. The flowers are pollinated by bats, and rainforest rodents such as agoutis facilitate the tree's reproduction by burying the seeds and then forgetting where they were buried.

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