[1][full citation needed] The cashew tree is large and evergreen, growing to 14 metres (46 feet) tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk.

[2] The leaves are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4–22 centimetres (1+1⁄2–8+3⁄4 inches) long and 2–15 cm (3⁄4–6 in) broad, with smooth margins.

The largest cashew tree in the world covers an area around 7,500 m2 (81,000 sq ft) and is located in Natal, Brazil.

[3][4] What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure, a hypocarpium, that develops from the pedicel and the receptacle of the cashew flower.

[5][6][2] Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as marañón, it ripens into a yellow or red structure about 5–11 cm (2–4+1⁄4 in) long.

Grafting and other modern tree management technologies improve and sustain cashew nut yields in commercial orchards.

[19][20] In 2023, global production of cashew nuts (as the kernel) was 3.9 million tonnes, led by Ivory Coast and India with a combined 46% of the world total (table).

[23] For up to 6% of children and 3% of adults, consuming cashews may cause allergic reactions, ranging from mild discomfort to life-threatening anaphylaxis.

[25][26] The shell of the cashew nut contains oil compounds that can cause contact dermatitis similar to poison ivy, primarily resulting from the phenolic lipids, anacardic acid, and cardanol.

[30] Readily and inexpensively extracted from the waste shells, cardanol is under research for its potential applications in nanomaterials and biotechnology.

The province of Pampanga also has a sweet dessert called turrones de casuy, which is cashew marzipan wrapped in white wafers.

[35] In Mozambique, bolo polana is a cake prepared using powdered cashews and mashed potatoes as the main ingredients.

Cashew nut husk is used in emerging industrial applications, such as an adsorbent, composites, biopolymers, dyes, and enzyme synthesis.

[37] The mature cashew apple can be eaten fresh, cooked in curries, or fermented into vinegar, citric acid,[38] or an alcoholic drink.

[13] In the Indian state of Goa, the ripened cashew apples are mashed, and the juice, called "neero", is extracted and kept for fermentation[6] for a few days.

[43] In Tanzania, the cashew apple (bibo in Swahili) is dried and reconstituted with water and fermented, then distilled to make a strong liquor called gongo.

These substances are skin allergens, like lacquer and the oils of poison ivy, and they present a danger during manual cashew processing.

[46] This natural oil phenol has interesting chemical structural features that can be modified to create a wide spectrum of biobased monomers.

These include polyols, which have recently seen increased demand for their biobased origin and key chemical attributes such as high reactivity, range of functionalities, reduction in blowing agents, and naturally occurring fire retardant properties in the field of rigid polyurethanes, aided by their inherent phenolic structure and larger number of reactive units per unit mass.

[13] The shells yield a black oil used as a preservative and water-proofing agent in varnishes, cement, and as a lubricant or timber seal.