Tucuma nut is the hard shelled seed of the tucuma palm (Astrocaryum aculeatum, and the related Astrocaryum vulgare), native to the Amazon basin of Brazil. The orange fleshed fruit surrounding the nut is more widely eaten than the kernel itself, but the kernel, extracted after cracking the extremely hard shell, is eaten locally and pressed for its oil, which is prized in the region for both food and cosmetic use. The tree's spiny trunk and slow growing habit have kept large scale commercial cultivation limited mainly to wild and semi wild harvesting in the Amazon.
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