Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale, Linn.)

These plants from the mountains in the tropical Americas (Brasilia). Now there are plants in the tropics, especially in South Asia such as India, Burma, Philippines, Malay Peninsula and Indonesia. Cashew nut plant grows in woods and fields (in dry areas, heat) at an altitude of 1200 m above sea level. But there are also planted in the yard as a fruit crop. Cashew nut included two plant seed pieces (seed plants split). Classified as a leafy plants or dicotyledonous two institutions.

Medium-sized tree, height up to 12 m, with a canopy spread, very branching, and always green. Headers can be high and narrow, or low and wide, depending on environmental conditions. The roots of riding more than 3 m it, and still enduring; lateral roots scattered through the canopy projection limit, with nutrient absorbing roots as deep as 6 m. pierce Stem uneven, crooked trunked, containing glue. Curved or rolled up pieces of skin stretched on both sides, broken skin somewhat difficult, somewhat wiry.

Cashew leaves

Short-stemmed leaves and oval shaped, round eggs breech to breech-oblong with notched edges, and strokes in order to ovate leaves are clearly visible upside-down, mostly with a pointed base and rounded tip, curved inward, single strands of leaves, yellowish green to dark green brownish, length 4 cm to 22 cm, width 2 cm to 15 cm, rounded leaf tip as the tip is blunt but not completely formed the pointed leaf tips until the end of the leaf is an arc, blunt with a small indentation in the middle, tapering leaf base (acutus) ie if the two edges of leaves on either side of maternal bone gradually toward the top and meeting at the height of the leaves forming a acute angle (less than 90 º), the edge of the leaf flat (truncatus), long petiole to 3 cm, bone leaves pinnate (penninervis ) has a maternal bone that runs from the base to the tip and is a continuation of the petiole, the upper and lower leaf surfaces smooth (laevis), not hairy. Leaves simple, alternate, thick and stiff, 6-24 cm long, 4-15 cm wide, glossy green.

Flowers

fruit stalk (fruit pseudo)

Flowers open panicle, 14-25 cm long, terminal, androgynous and male flowers. Most male flowers. Flowers fragrant, small, androgynous, 6-12 mm long, male flowers 1-2 mm. Corolla white. The enlarged fleshy part of fruit is soft, watery and reddish yellow fruit is the enlarged stalk. Meanwhile, thick fruit, seeds oval, 2-3 cm long with a reddish-brown seeds of two large cotyledons. Kidney-shaped seeds, seeds reddish brown-skinned, has two large pieces of seed, but small embryo.

Cashew fruit

Cashew nuts contain chemical compounds such as tannin, acid and cardol anacardic useful as anti-bacterial and anti-septic. In 100 g of leaves of young cashew nut has a composition including: Vitamin A of 2689 SI, Vitamin C is 65 g, calories 73 g, protein 4.6 g, 0.5 g fat, 16.3 g carbohydrate, calcium 33 mg, 64 mg phosphorus, iron 8.9 mg and 78 g water.

Plant medicines are used in various countries and included in the WHO priority list of medicinal plants in the world's most widely used. Cashew nut is estimated that it can control the center of the brain are impaired (loss of memory, fatigue, sex disorders, hallucinations, memory back and forth). His skin is gray and useful as a drug. Rind that has been finely ground prepared as a tincture or powdered drug. The side effects may include dermatitis. Tasteless brown skin and used as a medicine to shrink blood vessels.

These plants contain tannins, which can cause itching in the skin, and lemon rind to black if exposed to air, other than that this plant also contain a yellow oil that tastes sweet young (acayu oil), consisting of 40-50% kardol (tannin toxic) and anakardia acid. These oils cause skin burn or blisters. Skin of fruit also contains gliserids. linolein acids, palmitin, stearin and lignoserin, and sitosterin. The wood contains katechin and in all parts of the plants produce acid Gallus.

The leaves can be used as a medicine outside the body to treat skin diseases (eg pemphigus neonatorum) and burns. Juice of the fruit skin can be used as an external medicine for treating chronic ulcers and warts on the skin. But be careful of toxic reactions due to the way the old treatment. The roots are used as drug diarrhea and skin as a gargle (on sprue) and acne medication.