Edible Parts: Oil  Seed
Edible Uses: Oil

Edible portion: Kernel, Seeds, Nut, Vegetable. Seed - cooked. The roasted seed is eaten in small quantities only, since larger amounts are said to be laxative[ 301 ]. The seeds of a type grown in Vanuatu can be eaten in larger quantities without any apparent toxic effect[ 299 ]. After removing the hard outer coat, the seed can be pounded into a meal and eaten as a sauce[ 303 ]. The seed can be used in curries[ 598 ]. The seed is an indispensable spice in Indonesian cuisine, where it is known as 'kemiri. It possesses little flavour of its own, but mainly acts as a flavour enhancer, being added to numerous dishes in small quantities, raw, or briefly roasted, pounded and mixed with other ingredients[ 299 ]. In Hawaii a spice called 'inamona' is prepared from the seeds mixed with seaweed and salt[ 299 ]. The seed needs to be stored for some time, so that they are thoroughly dried, before they are eaten[ 63 ]. See notes above on toxicity. The residual oil cake is sometimes processed into a snack-food called 'dage kemiri' in Indonesia[ 299 ]. It is prepared by pounding the oil cake, then soaking it for 48 hours in running water, steaming it and then covering it with a banana leaf with a weight on top of it to press out remaining liquid. It is then left to ferment for 48 hours in a dark place[ 299 ]. Fruit[ 598 ]. The fruit has a thick rind enclosing two large seeds surrounded by a thin layer of pulp[ 377 ]. An oil is obtained from the seed[ 301 ]. The oil is inedible[ 303 ]. A reasonably important nut in several areas of Papua New Guinea. It is a cultivated food plant.

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Antidiarrhoeal  Antitumor  Contraceptive  Dysentery  Laxative  Purgative  Stimulant

Candle nut is a widely used traditional medicine in the Pacific Islands[ 311 ]. Some caution needs to be employed when using this plant since there are also reports of toxicity[ 63 , 311 ]. The bark is used to treat wounds, tumours, bloody diarrhoea and dysentery[ 303 , 311 ]. Bark juice, with coconut milk, is used for treating sprue[ 303 ]. In Tonga, infertility in women is treated by daily drinking a decoction of the bark[ 311 ]. Secondary amenorrhoea is also treated with a decoction of the bark[ 311 ]. Thrush, sore throat, tonsillitis and mouth sores are treated in Polynesia by gargling with an infusion of the bark[ 311 ]. The oil is purgative and sometimes used like castor oil[ 303 ]. The irritant oil is rubbed on scalp as a hair stimulant[ 303 ]. In the Cook Islands and Tahiti, candlenut oil is used to make a massage oil for a certain kind of headache (possibly caused by meningitis)[ 311 ]. The kernels are laxative, stimulant and sudorific[ 303 ]. The pulped kernel is used in poultices for headache, fevers, ulcers and swollen joints[ 303 ]. In Papua New Guinea, the seeds are applied externally to the male genitals as a contraceptive[ 311 ]. The leaves are used to treat constipation and food poisoning[ 311 ]. A decoction of the leaves is used in treating coughs, diarrhoea, pains in the chest and hernia[ 311]. An infusion of the leaves is used as a lotion or is ingested for mouth infections of infants[ 311 ]. The boiled leaves are used as a poultice to treat headaches and gonorrhoea[ 303 ].

Alcohol  Dye  Fertilizer  Fuel  Hedge  Oil  Paint  Paper  Pioneer  Tannin  Varnish  Wood

Other uses rating: High (4/5). Agroforestry Uses: The tree is used in reforestation projects[ 299 ]. Moderately fast growing, tolerant of strong winds and full sun and with a wide range of uses, it is an excellent species for use as a pioneer when restoring native woodland and establishing woodland gardens, though its ability to become naturalized in new areas means it should not be used outside areas where it is already established[ K ]. It is often planted as a living fence or as a boundary marker[ 339 ]. Other Uses The seed yields 57-80% of an inedible, semi-drying oil, liquid at ordinary temperatures, solidifying at -15 deg. C, containing oleostearic acid[ 303 ]. The oil, quicker drying than linseed oil, has a wide range of uses, being employed in applications such as a wood preservative; for varnishes and paint oils; as an illuminant; for soap making; cosmetics; linoleum manufacture; waterproofing paper; rubber substitutes; and insulating material[ 303 ]. It can be painted on bottoms of small crafts to protect against marine borers and also prevents feeding by striped cucumber beetle[ 303 ]. Oil yields as high as 300 kg/ha have been reported[ 303 ]. The seeds are so rich in oil that they have been strung together on a string and used as candles[ 63 , 307 ]. A fast-drying oil is obtained from the seed[ 303 , 598 ]. It is used in paints, making soap and as a lamp oil[ 598 ]. It is suitable, with modification, for use as a substitute for diesel fuel, the residues can be converted to alcohol or burnt as a fuel[ 303 ]. A copper-red dye is obtained from the plant (the seed?), used for decorating cloth[ 307 ]. The powdered seed is used as an adjuvant in the manufacture of palm sugar[ 301 ]. The seed press cake is suitable as a fertilizer[ 303 ]. The bark contains about 4 - 6% tannin[ 303 ]. The hardness of the seedcase is exploited in a gambling game in which the objective is to break the opponent?s stone by hitting it with one's own. In Indonesia a special cultivar is grown for this purpose[ 299 ]. The shells of the seeds are used in making traditional garlands (?leis?)[ 299 ]. The whitish wood is fine-grained, light in weight, soft, not durable, susceptible to termite attack[ 299 , 303 , 307 , 598 ]. It is used for general furniture, making plywood[ 307 , 598 ]. Where the wood is abundantly available it is used for carving and to make furniture, small utensils and matches[ 299 ]. It is suitable for paper pulp[ 299 ]. The tree is sometimes planted as a backyard tree to supply firewood[ 303 ].

Special Uses

Carbon Farming  Coppice  Food Forest  Hedge