Aleurites moluccanus

Candlenut , otherwise known as Kukui Nut Tree, Candleberry, Kemiri, Indian Walnut, Varnish Tree, Nuez dela India, or Buah Keras is a flowering tree that grows up to 25 m tall and has a spreading, irregular, dense canopy and a straight and cylindrical bole and can be up to 70 - 150 cm in diameter. The nut is round, and the seed inside has a very hard seed coat and a high oil content. Flowering starts when the tree is about 4 years old and can occur year-round. Due to such characteristics, candle nut tree is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and as great source of seed oil. The raw seed is edible but needs to be thoroughly dried first to destroy its toxic components like cyanide. The seed can also be roasted, pounded, mixed with other ingredients, or used in curries. It is in fact known in Indonesian cuisine as kemiri or an indispensible spice. On medicinal features, the bark is used to treat wounds, tumours, bloody diarrhea, and dysentery. Further, decoction of the bark is used to treat infertility in women and secondary amenorrhoea while infusion of the bark is used to treat thrush, sore throat, tonsillitis and mouth sores. Candlenut oil is used like castor oil, rubbed on scalp as hair stimulant, and as massage oil. The leaves, however toxic, are used for treating constipation and food poisoning. Decoction of the leaves is used to treat coughs, diarrhea, chest pain, and hernia. Infusion of the leaves, on the other hand, is used as a lotion or ingested for treating infant?s mouth infections. The leaves can also be boiled and use as a poultice to treat gonorrhoea and headaches.

Aleurites moluccanus is an evergreen Tree growing to 20 m by 20 m at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone 10 and is not frost tender. The flowers are pollinated by Bees.
Suitable for: light , medium and heavy soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic soils and can grow in very acid, very alkaline and saline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Industrial Crop: Medicinal Industrial Crop: Oil Management: Standard Regional Crop
The tree thrives in moist tropical regions, ranging from subtropical dry to wet through tropical very dry to wet forest life zones. It grows best at altitudes below 1,200 metres with a mean annual temperature in the range 18 - 28?c, and a mean annual rainfall of 650 - 4,300mm. Plants can tolerate short-lived frosts with temperatures occasionally falling as low as -4c. Requires a sunny position. Succeeds in a wide range of soils so long as they are well-drained. Plants prefer a pH in the range 5 - 8. Tolerant of strong winds and some salt spray. Some caution should be employed before introducing this tree into new areas since it can be very invasive. Growth is moderately fast, up to 1.5 metres per year in height under favourable conditions. In the Philippines trees reached a height of 12.5 metres with a stem diameter of 15cm 8 years after planting. The tree first flowers when it is about 4 years old. Flowering can occur year-round, and flowers and fruits of all stages of development may be present on a tree. The fruits need 3 - 4 months to develop and mature. Once established, trees require little to no attention. They can bear 2 heavy crops each year, harvested when mature. In plantations nut yields are estimated at 5 - 20 tonnes per hectare, with each tree producing 30 - 80 kg. Oil production varies from 15 to 20% of nut weight. Trees coppice when young and respond to pollarding when old.