Macadamia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadamia

Macadamia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering in the family Macadamia , with a disjunct distribution native to eastern (seven species), New Caledonia (one species M. neurophylla ) and Sulawesi in Indonesia (one species, M. hildebrandii ).

They are small to large evergreen growing to 2–12 m tall. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three to six, lanceolate to obovate or elliptical in shape, 6–30 cm long and 2–13 cm broad, with an entire or spiny-serrated margin. The flowers are produced in a long slender simple raceme 5–30 cm long, the individual flowers 10–15 mm long, white to pink or purple, with four tepals. The fruit is a very hard woody globose follicle with a pointed apex, containing one or two .

The genus is named after John Macadam, a colleague of botanist foliage and nuts Ferdinand von Mueller, who first described the genus. [1] Common names Scientific classification include Macadamia , Macadamia nut , Queensland nut , Bush nut , Maroochi nut , Queen of uts and bauple nut ; Indigenous Australian Kingdom: Plantae names include gyndl , jindilli , and boombera . (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Order: Contents Family: Proteaceae Genus: Macadamia 1 Production F.Muell. 2 Nutritional qualities Species 3 Skincare Macadamia nut in its shell and 4 Cultivation and processing Macadamia claudiensis a roasted nut 5 History Macadamia grandis 6 Trivia Macadamia hildebrandii 7 References Macadamia integrifolia 8 External links Macadamia jansenii Production Macadamia whelanii Macadamia neurophylla The nuts are a valuable food crop. Only two of the species, Macadamia integrifolia and Macadamia tetraphylla , are of commercial importance. The remainder of the genus possess poisonous and/or inedible nuts, such as M. whelanii and M. ternifolia ; the toxicity is due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides. These glycosides can be removed by prolonged leaching, a practice carried out by some Indigenous Australian people in order to use these species as well.

The two species of edible macadamia readily hybridise, and M. tetraphylla is threatened in the wild due to this. Wild nut trees were originally found at Mount Bauple near Maryborough in southeast Queensland, Australia. Locals in this area still refer to them as "Bauple nuts". The macadamia nut is the only food native to Australia that is produced and exported in any significant quantity.

The first commercial orchard of macadamia trees was planted in the early 1880s by Charles Staff at Rous Mill, 12 km southeast of Lismore, New South Wales , consisting of M. tetraphylla .[2] Besides the

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Mill, 12 km southeast of Lismore, New South Wales , consisting of M. tetraphylla .[2] Besides the development of a small boutique industry in Australia during the late 19th and early 20th century, macadamia was extensively planted as a commercial crop in Hawaii from the 1920s.

The Hawaiian-produced macadamia established the nut internationally. However, macadamia production is now falling in Hawaii, with nut production dropping to a 26-year low in 2008 due to bad weather and pests. [3]

Outside of Hawaii and Australia, macadamia is also commercially produced in South Africa, Brazil, California, Costa Rica, Israel, Kenya, Bolivia, New Zealand and Malawi. Australia is now the world's largest commercial producer - at approximately 40,000 tonnes of nut in shell per year, with a total global production of 100,000 tonnes.

utritional qualities

Macadamias are highly nutritious nuts. They have the highest amount of beneficial monounsaturated fats of any known nut. They also contain 9% protein, 9% carbohydrate, 2% dietary fibre, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, selenium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. [4]

Chocolate-covered macadamia Skincare nuts

Macadamia oil is prized for containing approximately 22% of the Omega-7 palmitoleic acid,[5] which makes it a botanical alternative to mink oil, which contains approximately 17%. This relatively high content of "cushiony" palmitoleic acid plus macadamia's high oxidative stability make it a desirable ingredient in cosmetics, especially skincare.

Cultivation and processing

The macadamia is usually propagated by grafting, and does not begin to produce commercial quantities of nuts until it is 7–10 years old, but once established, may continue bearing for over 100 years. prefer fertile, well-drained soils, a rainfall of 1,000–2,000 mm, and temperatures not falling below 10 °C (although once established they can withstand light frosts), with an optimum temperature of 25 °C. The roots are shallow and trees can be blown down in storms; they are also susceptible to Phytophthora root disease.

The macadamia nut has an extremely hard shell, but can be cracked using a blunt instrument, such as a hammer or rock applied with some force to the nut sitting in a concave surface, or a custom made macadamia nutcracker can be used. Nuts of the "Arkin Papershell" variety, crack open more readily.

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