Kukui Nut tree-Aleurites moluccana...Loaded :O

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

Howdy Folks,

Here's some pics from a mature Kukui/Candlenut tree in Funchal(Parque de Santa Catarina)

This tree is alway's busy Flowering and fruiting all year round












Regards,
Steven

[Mike T]

They are a very common rainforest pioneer tree here  routinely getting 120ft +.No one would ever grow one in their yard and the nuts litter the rainforest floor uncollected for the wildlife to dine on.

[fruitlovers]

Hi Steven, kukui is a very attractive tree. Was introduced here by first Hawaiians and now grows wild all over the place. Then nuts can be eaten after roasting and are quite tasty. They are used here for making a relish. The most valuable part now is kukui nut oil which is used in  many cosmetic and medicinal products. It's a very healing oil for many skin ailments.

[fruitlovers]

They are a very common rainforest pioneer tree here  routinely getting 120ft +.No one would ever grow one in their yard and the nuts litter the rainforest floor uncollected for the wildlife to dine on.

You Aussies wasting lots of dollar$. Kukui nut oil is very precious. Look up the price!

[Mike T]

We are just slow learners and bad at chasing bucks.In cyclone scrubs candle nuts spring back with a vengeance and can be the dominant tree.50, 20 or 10 years on you can see uniform sized stands of candlenuts and trace them to a particular cyclonic event.They sprout,stay small for many years under the rainforest canopy waiting or their chance.It happens that way with many rainforest trees while waiting for sun.The common term for these little dormant trees is oscars. 

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

Hi Mike,
That's trully amazing, this tree in Funchal is no were near +36m in height Maybe, +10m I would also never plant this tree in my orchard...If it wasn't for the lack of space, you bet I would pop a few in a the ground

Hi Oscar,
I totally agree with you...The Kukui nut tree is most gorgous and very ornamental tree8) I knew they were edible, but never tried them The floor will be full of nut's in a few months time...I will definitely harvest some and roasted them

I need to read through this PDF on Kukui nut tree The sap from harvested green fruits are used traditionally by Hawaiians to treat cuts and skin sores This tree is what i call a multi-purpose tree...Medicinal, food, animal fodder, oil...etc
 
 http://agroforestry.net/tti/Aleurites-kukui.pdf
 

[luc]

Thanks for the link Jackfruitwhisperer , I always wanted to grow one , but read somewhere it takes 10 years to fruit , the Australian site says 4 so I'll be looking for a few seeds......Oscar

[BMc]

There is a nice one in the BG down the road thats just started dropping nuts. It'd be around 20m tall and at least that wide. Underneath is the most ideal spot for aroids, gingers, broms, cordylines etc, so you can see why they are among the best pioneers. I knew they had many uses, but here its mostly in burning the nuts as candles.

[fruitlovers]

Thanks for the link Jackfruitwhisperer , I always wanted to grow one , but read somewhere it takes 10 years to fruit , the Australian site says 4 so I'll be looking for a few seeds......Oscar

OK Luc, will send you some. BTW in Mexico there is a big fad of using kukui nut to loose weight. If you eat a small amount of raw nut every day it does really kill your appetite. Too much and it will also make you nauseous.

[luc]

Thanks for the link Jackfruitwhisperer , I always wanted to grow one , but read somewhere it takes 10 years to fruit , the Australian site says 4 so I'll be looking for a few seeds......Oscar

OK Luc, will send you some. BTW in Mexico there is a big fad of using kukui nut to loose weight. If you eat a small amount of raw nut every day it does really kill your appetite. Too much and it will also make you nauseous.

Doesn't seem to work Oscar ( the loosing weight ) or maybe to few people know about this....isn't Mexico 2 nd on the list after the US for overweight people , we have too many ' Carne asadas ' with guacamole and hand made tortillas hmmmmm....washed down with a good bottle of Tequila and a bucket full of ice cold Corona's...