Anacardium occidentale (Cajú, Cashnew Nut)

Fast growing, well branched, widely crowned, evergreen Tree of the genus Anacardium and the family Anacardiaceae with the height of to 40 feet with large, glossy, deep green, leathery, to 10 inches long leaves. The numerous sweetish blossoms are pale rose, greenish or reddish with 5 sepals, 5 petals and 10 stamens are appearing on terminal trusses of the length of to 10 inches. The blossoms are both male and female as well as bisexual, whereby the male blossoms are in the superior number. Bisexual blossoms are to 0.5 inches long, male to 0.75 inches, to ripening the fruits the blossoms develops to fleshy, edible, soft, juicy and pear-like fruits of the length of to 7.5 inches, the cashew apples, which are obtaining the glossy yellow or red color when ripening. The nuts have the kidney bean-like form of the size of approx. 0.75 to 1.25 inches and are hanging under the cashew apples. The juice of cashew apples can be used as beverages. In Brazil the cashew nuts are named "Cajú" in the Portuguese language.

We have 4 specimens in our yard. In June 2011 they were damaged severly by frost at only -2°C and were killed back and lost their whole foliage. But they did recover quickly and after less than 2 years we could harvest some fruits.

One of our specimens in your yard in September 2008 in flower.

One harvested fruit in January 2013.

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Created by Joachim Jaeck on December, 1st, 2009