Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Aleurites moluccanus - Candle Nut, Country Walnut

Edible Portion: Kernel, Seeds, Nuts, Vegetable

A large tree up to 40 m tall and 1 m through at the base. The bark is rough. The leaves are large and can be round, triangular or have several lobes. The leaves have a pale colour. The leaves are alternate, silvery green and crowded near the tips. Young leaves are hairy and sometimes lobed. The leaves, leaf stalks and flowers are all covered with short soft hairs. There are 2 distinct brown glands where the leaf blade and stalk join. The flowers are small and white and in large groups on the ends of branches. Male and female flowers are separate but on the same tree. The female flowers are on the end surrounded by small male flowers. The fruit is a large (4 to 5 cm across) green 2 lobed berry with 1 or 2 large (2.5 cm across) seeds with a hard corrugated shell. They do not open naturally to release the seeds.