vegetable ivory
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vegetable ivory:
see taguatagua, fruit of the ivory, or ivory-nut, palms (Phytelephas species), which flourish in tropical America from Paraguay to Panama. The female palms bear large woody, burrlike fruits, each containing several seeds about the size of hen's eggs in P. macrocarpa.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Vegetable Ivory
a natural product obtained from the seeds of the South American palm Phytelephas makrocarpa. The tree’s large aggregate fruit contains numerous seeds, each one the size of a hen’s egg. Under the brown casing of the seed there is a white cornaceous endosperm. The endosperm, which is extremely hard, is used to imitate ivory in the manufacture of buttons and other small items. Ecuador is the world’s principal exporter of vegetable ivory, with annual exports reaching 20,000 tons.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
vegetable ivory
[′vej·tə·bəl ‚īv·rē] (materials)
A material from the ivory nut, a seed of the palm Phytelephas macrocarpa, which grows in tropical America; the nut has a white color and fine texture and is used to make buttons and similar small articles.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.