Anacardiaceae (the cashew family or the sumac family) is a family of flowering plants bearing fruits that are drupes and in some cases producing urushiol, an irritant. Its numerous genera include several of economic importance. Notable plants in this family include cashew (in the type genus Anacardium), mango, poison ivy, sumac, smoke tree, marula and pistachio. The genus Pistacia (which includes the pistachio) sometimes is placed in its own family, Pistaciaceae.
It was brought to India and East Africa during the 1400s by Portuguese missionaries. Medicinal Uses: The cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL), a by-product of processing cashew, is mostly composed of anacardic acids. These acids have been used effectively in vivo against tooth abcesses due to their lethality to gram positive bacteria. They are also active against a wide range of other gram-positive bacteria. Many parts of the plant are used by the Patamona of Gyana medicinally. The bark is scraped and
Mango is now cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and warmer subtropical climates like the Indian subcontinent; nearly half of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India alone. A ripe mango is generally sweet, although the taste varies from variety to variety. The texture of the flesh varies between cultivars, some having a soft, pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have firmer flesh like a cantaloupe or avocado. In some cultivars, the flesh has a fibrous textur
The cashew (Anacardium occidentale; syn. Anacardium curatellifolium A.St.-Hil.) is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew "nuts" and cashew apples. It is a small evergreen tree growing to 10-12m (~32 ft) tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk. The
Big Red Bud Fern Plant Cashew family The fruit has been known to last through winter and into spring. The fruit of sumacs can be collected, soaked and washed in cold water, strained, sweetened and made into a pink lemonade. The leaves and berries of staghorn sumac have been mixed with tobacco and other herbs and smoked by Native American tribes. can be used as both a natural dye.
