An East Indian tree (Anacardium occidentale) that produces cashew nuts and the astringent extract used in tanning leather and dyeing.
From Portuguese 'caju' or 'cashew,' derived from Tupi (Brazilian indigenous language) 'acajú.' The term traveled through Portuguese colonial trade networks into English.
The cashoo tree produces a toxic oil in its shell that's so caustic it can cause chemical burns—yet humans learned to process it anyway, making the cashew nut one of the most valuable crops to come from the Americas.
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