Anacardium occidentale L.

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Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Bart Wursten
Chitengo Camp, Gorongosa National Park.

Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Bart Wursten
Chitengo Camp, Gorongosa National Park.

Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Bart Wursten
Chitengo Camp, Gorongosa National Park.

Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Bart Wursten
Chitengo Camp, Gorongosa National Park.

Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Bart Wursten
Chitengo Camp, Gorongosa National Park.

Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Sune Holt
Vilankulo, Inhambane, Mozambique

Anacardium occidentale

Photo: Sune Holt
Vilankulo, Inhambane, Mozambique

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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms:
Common names: Cajueiro (Portuguese) Cashew nut (English) Castanha de Caju (Portuguese)
Frequency:
Status: Introduced and naturalized
Description:
Tree, rarely a shrub. Leaves spirally arranged, shortly petiolate, broadly oblong-obovate, up to 18 cm long, leathery shiny green above, paler below, reddish when young; midrib prominent below; lateral veins 9-17 pairs. Flowers in branched terminal heads, yellowish-white, tinged pale reddish. Fruit kidney-shaped, greenish yellow, hanging from a very thickened, fleshy pedicel.
Type location:
Notes: Extensively cultivated in Mozambique and apparently naturalized from time to time.
Derivation of specific name: occidentale: occidental, western
Habitat:
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:Sep - Oct
Worldwide distribution: Tropical America; cultivated throughout the tropics and an occasional naturalized escape.
FZ divisions:
Growth form(s): Tree.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated: Friday 12 September 2008
Literature:

Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lötter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique Publishing Print Matters (Pty), Cape Town. Page 476. (Includes a picture).

Fernandes, R. & A. (1966). Anacardiaceae Flora Zambesiaca 2(2) Pages 551 - 552.

Ntore, S. & al. (2024). Checklist of the vascular plants of Burundi Page 47.

Parker, T. (2023). Common Trees of Mozambique The Tree Press, Austin, Texas, USA Pages 22 - 23. (Includes a picture).

Siebert, S. & Mössmer, M. (Editors) (2002). SABONET Southern Mozambique Expedition 2001; Provisional Plant Checklist of the Maputo Elephant Reserve (MER) and Licuati Forest Reserve (LFR) SABONET News 7(1) Page 23.

Van Der Veken, P. (1960). Anacardiaceae Flore du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi Volume IX Pages 7 - 8.


Other sources of information about Anacardium occidentale:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Anacardium occidentale
Flora of Burundi: cultivated Anacardium occidentale
Flora of the DRC: Anacardium occidentale
Flora of the DRC: cultivated Anacardium occidentale
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Anacardium occidentale
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Anacardium occidentale
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Anacardium occidentale

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Anacardium occidentale
African Plant Database: Anacardium occidentale
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Anacardium occidentale
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Anacardium occidentale
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Anacardium occidentale
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Anacardium occidentale
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Anacardium occidentale
JSTOR Plant Science: Anacardium occidentale
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Anacardium occidentale
Plants of the World Online: Anacardium occidentale
Tropicos: Anacardium occidentale
Wikipedia: Anacardium occidentale


Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2007-26

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2026). Flora of Mozambique: Species information: Anacardium occidentale.
https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=164230, retrieved 11 August 2026

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