Candlenut

Aleurites moluccanus, the candlenut, Indian walnut or, in Hawaii, kukui, is a tree in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. Its origin is unclear because humans spread it early, and it was first domesticated on the islands of Southeast Asia, where remains of harvested nuts date to about 13,000 years ago. Early Austronesian voyagers carried it across the Pacific as a canoe plant. The fruit is a drupe holding one or two hard-shelled nuts with a soft, white, oily kernel. The raw seeds are mildly toxic and are eaten cooked or toasted. In ancient Hawaii the nuts were strung on a palm midrib and burned for light, which also let them measure time. Hawaiians made leis, tattoo ink from charred nuts and a dye from the inner bark. In Tonga, as recently as 1993, candlenuts were chewed into a sweet-scented emollient for a funerary ritual.