Tropical Plant Database - Plant Details

This tree is up to 30 m. tall with oblong, pointed leaflets 7.5-30 cm x 4-15 cm wide. At the ends of the branches, numerous small (1.5 cm) hairy flowers appear in bunches. Each tree is single sexed (dioceous). The nuts are oval to triangular, 3-5 cm long with three ribs along the side and a single seed.
(Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, April 2006, ver. 2.1. Canarium indicum var. indicum and C. harveyi (canarium nut) http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Canarium-canariumnut.pdf)
(Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i.)

In the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, a preparation is made from the bark for the treatment of chest pains.

(Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, April 2006, ver. 2.1. Canarium indicum var. indicum and C. harveyi (canarium nut) http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Canarium-canariumnut.pdf)

Canarium nut has many uses: its oil is used in skin-care products. The oily nuts and resin were lit and used as torches (similar to kukui nut in Hawai’i). The resin also has a pleasant odor and was used in religious ceremonies, and as a caulk to seal canoes. The wood is showy, and suitably for light construction and verneer, bowls and even to make canoes. The bark is used as a dye, soot from burning the resin was once used as ceremonial facepaint.
(Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, April 2006, ver. 2.1. Canarium indicum var. indicum and C. harveyi (canarium nut) http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Canarium-canariumnut.pdf)

Geographic Distribution: The canarium nut is native to parts of Indonesia, Papau New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

(Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, April 2006, ver. 2.1. Canarium indicum var. indicum and C. harveyi (canarium nut) http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Canarium-canariumnut.pdf)

Edibility:
The oily nut is eaten locally and exported for sale. The nut can be eaten fresh, roasted for preservation, used as a flavoring or spice, or even as a sweet topping for ice cream. The oil is used in cooking. France, one of the European importers, mainly uses canarium nut in upscale candies and bakeries. Export of the nut has proced to be profitable, in Vanuatu, for example there are two commercial companies purchasing nuts in shells for about US$0.25–0.50/kg, it is calculated that processed and packaged nuts have approximately the same retail value as macadamia nuts!

(Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, April 2006, ver. 2.1. Canarium indicum var. indicum and C. harveyi (canarium nut) http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Canarium-canariumnut.pdf)

C. indicum is among the oldest and most important tree crops in Melanesia, an integral part of one of the world’s first known permanent agroforestry systems. This fact is noted in how commonly the tree is integrated into stories songs and dances. In parts of the Solomon
Islands the traditional calendar is based around the trees’ flowering and fruiting cycle. The trees are frequently planted as tribal boundaries and commemorative markers, and rights to harvest individual trees are traded within and among clans. Old specimens are often indicators or pre-missionary settlements and religious sites.

(Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, April 2006, ver. 2.1. Canarium indicum var. indicum and C. harveyi (canarium nut) http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Canarium-canariumnut.pdf)

We currently have 13 herbarium specimens for Canarium indicum in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.

• 079959 - collected by Derral Herbst in 1967
• 066219 - collected by Art Whistler in 1985
• 008122 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1990
• 008123 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1990
• S062632 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1990
• 021153 - collected by David H. Lorence in 1996
• 047742 - collected by S. K. Pell in 2008
• 058728 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2010
• S062088 - collected by David Boucher in 2011
• 063749 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2012
• 068943 - collected by Paul Harwood in 2013
• 082232 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2017
• 004352 - collected by Richard A. Howard in 2020