The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple.

It can grow as high as 14 metres (46 ft); but the dwarf cashew; growing up to 6 metres (20 ft); has proved more profitable; with earlier maturity and higher yields.

The cashew seed is served as a snack or used in recipes; like nuts. The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit; whose pulp can be processed into a sweet; astringent fruit drink or distilled into liquor.

The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications from lubricants to paints; and other parts of the tree have traditionally been used for snake-bites and other folk remedies.

Originally native to northeastern Brazil; the tree is now widely cultivated in Vietnam; Nigeria and India as major production countries. Pictures From Asia Pictures From Asia