Torchwood Family

Pili Nut

This nut tree is native to the maritime regions of Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea and Australia, but are a commercial crop mainly in the Philippines. Currently, the nuts are gathered in the wild, though there are a couple of commercial plantations started - the problem is the trees are very difficult to propagate reliably. A new variety, Poamoho, has been developed in Hawaii which has good production quality, and the seeds don't stick hard in the shells.

Raw, these nuts taste much like pumpkin seeds. Roasted they have a light nut flavor similar to Brazil nuts but are much softer. The dark brown seed coat is too thick to ignore and has to be removed. This is easily done if you split the two halves apart.

Pili nuts are about 8% carbohydrates, 12% protein and 70% fats and have significant amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. Pili nut fats are about 50% monounsaturated and 35% saturated. The The main markets for these nuts are Hong Kong and Taiwan where they are an ingredient in one type of moon cake, but they are shipped all over Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. The photo specimens were lightly roasted and were typically 1-1/2 inches long and weighed 13 to the ounce.

Atile

This large tree is native to tropical Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to Angola and Tanzania. It bears edible fruit, about 1.4 inches long, with a high oil content. Flavor is similar to olives. It is usually prepared by soaking in hot water to soften it. The fruit can be crushed to produce oil, often used in marinades. The hard seeds also contain oils and a useful oleoresin called "elemi". Oils from the seed are also edible and sometimes used to replace shea-butter. This fruit is usually harvested in the wild. Various parts of the tree are used medicinally.   Photo by Minette Lontsie distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike v4.0 International.

Buah Dabai

This fruit native to Sarawak, Malaysia, is very similar to the Atile (see above), and is also soaked in hot water so it will be edible. The green flesh under the black rind is said to taste similar to Avocado, and it is usually eaten with salt or soy sauce. As with the Atile and Pili Nut, the seed kernel is edible.   Photo © Lindsay Gasik used under fair use doctrine, (small, cropped, non-commercial). Permission requested.

Ube / Safou

This large tree is native to tropical Africa, from Sierra Leone east to Uganda and south into Angola. Some are now grown in Malaysia. In the wild it grows 60 to 130 feet tall, but on plantations is kept to about 40 feet. The wood is very strong and often used for tool handles. It bears oval fruit between 1.5 and 4.7 inches long. This fruit is both harvested wild and grown on plantations. Various parts of the tree are used medicinally.

The fruit is considered to have great potential for nutrition. It contains about 63% of oils, including palmitic, oleic, stearic, linolenic and linoleic fatty acids. It is also high in amino acids, triglycerides and vitamins. The fruit can be eaten raw, boiled or roasted. The flesh of cooked fruit has a texture similar to butter, and is often used as a spread. The fruit can be crushed to produce oil, and the hard seeds also contain oils and chemicals of industrial use, particularly Gallic Acid.   Photo by uncertain, contributed to the public domain.

Chinese Black Olive

This fruit is preserved in brine and used similarly to black ripe Oleaceae olives but is not really an olive at all. It is the fruit of a large resinous tree, related to the frankincense tree, native to Southeast Asia and southern China. The flesh is relatively thin and the seed large and sharply pointed at both ends. Aside from the brined fruit, the seed kernels inside the pits of this and related species are sold as Canarium nut, Pili nut or Galip nut. The photo specimens were purchased from a large Asian market in Los Angeles, packed in brine.

Chinese White Olive

This olive shaped fruit is used similarly to Oleaceae olives but is not really an olive at all. It is the fruit of a large resinous tree, related to the frankincense tree, native to Southeast Asia and southern China. Why it is called "white" is unknown to me. The fruits are used in cooking both fresh, where they are somewhat resinous, and preserved by soaking in brine and drying. They are particularly popular in Thailand and Vietnam. This fruit is also used in Asian herbal medicines and cosmetics.   Photo by Takeaway distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike v3.0 unported.