Why They're A WILD Food
Brazil nuts come from the tree species Bertholletia excelsa, one of the tallest and longest-living canopy trees common to the Amazonian rainforests of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and Venezuela. Living close to 500 years or more, these trees have been utilized by humans for over 11,000 years, since the Upper Paleolithic Era. Growing as high as 160 feet (50 meters), the top portion of the tree is where most of its foliage is located. This is also where the large and heavy fruit pod capsules, weighing close to 4 pounds each, grow and naturally fall to the ground when ripe.