Is cashew a plant or tree?

A cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is an evergreen tree and nut tree belonging to the Anacardiaceae family. It is native to northeastern Brazil and southeastern Venezuela in South America.

Are cashews a tree?

cashew, (Anacardium occidentale), evergreen shrub or tree of the sumac family (Anacardiaceae), cultivated for its characteristically curved edible seeds, which are commonly called cashew “nuts” though they are not true nuts.

Do cashews grow on trees or vines?

You probably already knew this, but cashews grow on trees. That’s not the weird part, however; it’s what they grow from that will make you look at them differently. Cashews grow in a shell that’s attached to a “cashew apple” which is attached to the branch of the tree.

How do cashews grow for kids?

What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure called the cashew apple, it ripens into a yellow or red structure about 5–11 cm (2.0–4.3 in) long. It is edible and has a strong “sweet” smell and taste. The true fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple.

Are cashew a fruit?

Cashews are not really nuts in the true sense, but rather a drupe seed. They grow on fruit producing trees which produce a ‘false fruit’ known as the cashew apple. The fruit resembles a small bell pepper being yellow to red in color.

Is cashew a seed or nut?

seeds
Cashews are botanically classified as seeds because they grow inside the cashew fruit, which is also known as a drupe.

Where do cashew trees grow?

Distribution: The cashew is now of pan-tropical distribution and is grown commercially in many tropical areas of the world, including East Africa, Southeast Asia, India, and Australia, with India, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Brazil currently the leading producers.

What do cashew plants look like?

The cashew tree is large and evergreen, growing to 14 m (46 ft) tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk. The leaves are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4–22 cm (1.6–8.7 in) long and 2–15 cm (0.79–5.91 in) broad, with smooth margins.

How many cashews grow on a tree?

By the time a tree is 20 years old, its productive life is over. Depending on what stage of life a tree is at, and how vigorous it is, a cashew tree can produce anywhere up to 50 kg (around 100 pounds) of nuts a year.

What part of the plant is a cashew?

Thus, because of the plant’s structural configuration, the edible portion of a cashew is botanically classified as a drupe seed. The seed and its outer shell are technically considered both the nut and the fruit, but the shell is inedible due to the presence of a toxic substance.

How do cashew trees grow?

A cashew is technically not a nut at all—it’s a seed that grows on a cashew apple. Cashew apples grow on trees, scientifically called Anacardium occidentale, that are native to Brazil. Here’s how they get from the tree to your grocery store: The apple, with the seed still attached, is picked from the tree branch.

Is a cashew a fruit?