Anacardium occidentale seed | Cashew

LATIN NAME: Anacardium occidentale COMMON NAME: Cashew

Botanical Profile

Cashew is native to Brazil, growing as a spreading tropical tree with an unusual fruiting structure: what most people recognise as the cashew nut actually hangs beneath a separate, fleshy, pear-shaped structure called the cashew apple, itself a swollen stem rather than a true fruit, with the true fruit being the kidney-shaped nut shell dangling below it. This unusual dual structure, one edible fruit-like part and one nut-bearing part growing from the same stalk, is genuinely unique among common cultivated tree crops.

Science & Conservation

The shell surrounding the raw cashew nut contains urushiol-related caustic compounds from the same chemical family found in poison ivy, since cashew belongs to the same plant family, meaning raw, unprocessed cashew shells are genuinely caustic and can cause significant skin irritation or worse, which is precisely why all commercially sold cashews have already been carefully roasted or steamed to destroy these compounds before the nut ever reaches consumers, a food-safety processing step studied within food science and occupational safety research given the real risks cashew processing workers have historically faced without proper protective equipment.

Landscape & Practical Uses

Cashew nuts, always sold after careful commercial processing to remove the shell’s caustic compounds, are a globally popular snack and cooking ingredient, while the fleshy cashew apple, though rarely seen outside cashew-growing regions due to its poor transportability, is eaten fresh or made into juice and fermented beverages in Brazil and other producing countries. Never attempt to process raw, unroasted cashew shells at home, since doing so safely requires equipment and precautions well beyond typical home kitchen capability.

Growing From Seed

Fresh seed germinates most reliably; sow it into a loose, free-draining tropical mix and keep it warm and consistently moist, handling the raw shell with gloves given its caustic compounds. Bright light suits the young tree well, and it typically establishes readily in genuinely warm, tropical growing conditions.

Our Take

We think the cashew apple is the genuinely underrated part of this plant for most people outside cashew-growing regions – if you ever get the chance to try fresh cashew apple juice in a producing country, we would call it a worthwhile experience most cashew lovers never get.

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