Skip to main content

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)

Jambu monyet or mete or cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a species of plant in Anacardiaceae where receptaculum balloons and fruit can be eaten. Medium-sized tree, up to 12 m tall, wide canopy, has many branches and always green.

A. occidentale has a high canopy and is narrow or low and widens depending on environmental conditions. The leaves are located at the end of the twigs, stem-stemmed, egg-shaped upside down, most have a tapered base and ends rounded, curved inward, bare and 8-22x5-13 cm.

Dlium Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)

Cashew is a monoesis, androgynous flowers, collected in a smooth panicle with fine hair and 15-25 cm wide. Hairy petals and 4-5 mm. Pointy crown, 1 cm, white to red and hairy. The fruit is dark brown, bent and 3 cm high.

Jambu monyet is mainly cultivated for receptaculum balloons which expand after fertilization which is often referred to as "fruit". This pseudo fruit is a soft part that is swollen and yellow or red.

Receptaculum is sometimes sold on the market as "fresh fruit" for sour taste. Further processing produces a sweet taste as syrup or fermented for alcoholic drinks. The untreated receptaculum is used as animal feed.

The true fruit is actually a hard part, blackish brown and contains seeds that can be processed into delicious snacks that are often referred to as "nuts" (as the kernel) called mete.

Mete is surrounded by a double shell that secretes urushiol sap which can cause irritation to the skin. Some people are allergic, but actually rarely cause allergies in humans when compared with nuts.



Mete is usually fried as a snack when drinking tea or coffee, chocolate fillers and decorations of cakes. Mete husk is used for poultry feed. A type of oil extract is also produced from shells for various industries as cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) or cashew shell oil (CAS).

Raw nuts are 5% water, 30% carbohydrates, 44% fat, and 18% protein (table). In a 100 gram provide 553 calories, 67% DV total fats, 36% DV of protein, 13% DV dietary fiber and 11% DV carbohydrates. Rich sources including particularly copper, manganese, phosphorus and magnesium (79-110% DV); thiamin, vitamin B6 and vitamin K (32-37% DV); iron, potassium, zinc, and selenium (14-61% DV). In 100 grams raw contain 1.74 gr) of beta-sitosterol.

Young leaves are preferred as raw or cooked vegetables. Old leaves are used to treat skin rashes. All parts of the tree can be used for traditional medicinal herbs, especially for curing skin aches, mouth cleansers and laxatives.

The wood is light brown, of low value and rarely used, generally as firewood and low-quality tooling. The sap from the stems and hardened in the open air is called gum for book adhesive and plywood, also preventing termites.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Anacardium
Species: A. occidentale

Popular Posts

Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil)

Japanese morning glory ( Ipomoea nil ) is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family, a climber with twining stems that grow up to 5 meters long. The green, finely hairy leaves are 14 cm long, heart-shaped at the base, entire or 3-5-lobed, tapering at the edges. The flowers are funnel-shaped, blue to reddish-purple with a whitish tube, 5 cm wide and up to 7 cm long. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Convolvulaceae Subfamily: Convolvuloideae Tribe: Ipomoeeae Genus: Ipomoea L. in Sp. Pl.: 159 (1753) Species: Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth in Catal. Bot. 1: 36 (1797) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Convolvuloides triloba Moench in Methodus: 452 (1794) Convolvulus nil L. in Sp. Pl., ed. 2.: 219 (1762) Pharbitis nil (L.) Choisy in Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 439 (1833 publ. 1834) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Convolvulus caeruleus (Roxb. ex Ker-Gawl.) Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 1: 593 (1824) Convolvulus coelestis G.Forst. in Fl. Ins...

Moist pimpernel (Lindernia dubia)

Moist pimpernel ( Lindernia dubia ) is a species of plant in the Linderniaceae. It is a herbaceous, ground-growing, erect, cylindrical stem with red to light brown color. The leaves are green, oval, up to 10 mm long, up to 7 mm wide, with rounded tips and reddish veins. The flowers are funnel-shaped, bluish-white, with yellow veins. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Linderniaceae Genus: Lindernia All. in Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur. 3: 178 (1766) Species: Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell in Monogr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1: 141 (1935) Variety: Lindernia dubia var. dubia, Lindernia dubia var. rhizomatosa Pennell ex D.Q.Lewis HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Ilysanthes dubia (L.) Barnhart in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 376 (1899) Ilysanthes gratioloides Benth. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 419 (1846) Gratiola dubia L. in Sp. Pl.: 17 (1753) Limnophila dubia (L.) M.R.Almeida in Fl. Maharashtra 3B: 393 (2001)...

Philippine spinach (Talinum fruticosum)

Philippine spinach ( Talinum fruticosum ) is a species of plant in the Talinaceae family. It is an erect, non-woody herb, growing up to 100 cm tall. The leaves are radially arranged, up to 15 cm long and 5 cm wide, with a large central vein. The surface is smooth, shiny, dark green, and pinnate at the base. The inflorescences are in clusters. The flowers are fan-shaped with five red or white petals, with yellow anthers. Fruit round, up to 5 mm wide. This plant grows wild in colonies on forest floors, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Talinaceae Genus: Talinum Adans. in Fam. Pl. 2: 245, 609 (1763) Species: Talinum fruticosum (L.) Juss. in Gen. Pl.: 312 (1789) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Portulaca fruticosa L. in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2 (1759) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Ruelingia triangularis (Jacq.) Ehrh. in Beitr. Naturk. Verw. Wiss. 3 (1788) Calandrinia andrewsii ...