A South American palm tree produces a substance that can be used as a substitute for ivory

Saturday, March 15, 2014 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: palm tree, vegetable ivory, renewable resource

(NaturalNews) The harvest, sale, import and export of ivory are banned in most countries in an attempt to stem the wholesale slaughter of elephants and other tusked animals (such as walruses).

Yet there continues to be a demand for a natural material with the same distinctive look and versatility. Fortunately, some South American palm trees, particularly Phytelephas aequatorialis, actually produce a substance with the same hardness, luster and look, called "vegetable ivory."

Vegetable ivory is actually the endosperm of the palm's seeds -- the same portion of the seed as white rice, popcorn or the "meat" of a coconut.

It is remarkably hard and dense for a seed and can actually be polished and carved just like elephant tusks. Best of all, a single tree can produce as much as 50 pounds of nuts in a single year, equivalent to the ivory found in a single elephant tusk.

The tree produces seeds every year over the course of its mature life.

Source:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu

http://waynesword.palomar.edu