[2][9] In North America, as early as 1896, Brazil nuts were sometimes known by the slang term "nigger toes",[10][11][12] a vulgarity that fell out of use after the racial slur became more socially unacceptable.

The leaves are dry-season deciduous, alternate, simple, entire or crenate, oblong, 20–35 centimetres (8–14 in) long, and 10–15 cm (4–6 in) broad.

[citation needed] Brazil nut trees produce fruit almost exclusively in pristine forests, as disturbed forests lack the large-bodied bees of the genera Bombus, Centris, Epicharis, Eulaema, and Xylocopa, which are the only ones capable of pollinating the tree's flowers, with different bee genera being the primary pollinators in different areas, and different times of year.

The fruit itself is a large capsule 10–15 cm (4–6 in) in diameter, resembling a coconut endocarp in size and weighing up to 2 kg (4 lb 7 oz).

[21] Most of the seeds are "planted" by the agoutis in caches during wet season,[21] and the young saplings may have to wait years, in a state of dormancy, for a tree to fall and sunlight to reach it, when it starts growing again.

The Brazil nut family, the Lecythidaceae, is in the order Ericales, as are other well-known plants such as blueberries, cranberries, sapote, gutta-percha, tea, phlox, and persimmons.

The tree is the only species in the monotypic genus Bertholletia,[2] named after French chemist Claude Louis Berthollet.

It occurs as scattered trees in large forests on the banks of the Amazon River, Rio Negro, Tapajós, and the Orinoco.

Since most of the production for international trade is harvested in the wild,[25][26] the business arrangement has been advanced as a model for generating income from a tropical forest without destroying it.

[30] However, mechanical sorting and drying was found to eliminate 98% of aflatoxins; a 2003 EU ban on importation[28] was rescinded after new tolerance levels were set.

[40][41] Consumption of just one Brazil nut per day over 8 weeks was sufficient to restore selenium blood levels and increase HDL cholesterol in obese women.

[44] Because of its hardness, the Brazil nutshell is often pulverized and used as an abrasive to polish materials, such as metals and ceramics, in the same way as jeweler's rouge, while charcoal from the shells can be used to purify water.