[5] The fruit and tree are often vulgarized with the umbrella term of "Java almond" which mixes multiple species of the same genus, Canarium.

The C. ovatum tree is a symmetrically shaped evergreen, averaging 20 m (66 ft) tall with resinous wood and resistance to strong winds.

The skin (exocarp) is smooth, thin, shiny, and turns purplish black when the fruit ripens; the pulp (mesocarp) is fibrous, fleshy, and greenish yellow in color, and the hard shell (endocarp) within protects a normally dicotyledonous embryo.

C. ovatum is a tropical tree preferring deep, fertile, well drained soil, warm temperatures, and well distributed rainfall.

Young shoots of C. ovatum were believed to have functional internal phloems, which rendered bark ringing ineffective as a way of building up carbohydrate levels in the wood.

The production standard for a mature C. ovatum tree is between 100 and 150 kg (220 and 330 lb) of in-shell nut, with the harvest season from May to October and peaking between June and August.

[7] In the Philippines, production centers are located in the Bicol region, provinces of Sorsogon, Albay, and Camarines Sur, southern Tagalog, and eastern Visayas.

The pili nut tree can be propagated by seed, marcotting, patch budding, cleft grafting, air layering, and inarching.

[12] Commercially, in the Philippines, cleft or wedge grafting with defoliated budsticks is used with rootstocks in large containers or directly in the field during the months between November and February, when the weather is cool and dry.

[12] Similarly to cleft or wedge grafting, the rootstocks are well watered and fertilized and the defoliated budwoods are cultivated from young, actively growing trees.

The lack of an effective clonal propagation method not only hampers the collection of superior germplasm but also makes it almost impossible to conduct feasibility trials of this crop.

[9] The National Clonal Germplasm Repository at Hilo, USDA-ARS, has initiated studies of in vitro and vegetative propagation for the multiplication and long-term preservation of pili.

Boiled pili pulp resembles the sweet potato in texture; it is oily (about 12%) and is considered to have food value similar to the avocado.

[14] Research from the Institute of Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines Los Baños, describes pili nuts of high quality as large, round kernel, and a thin pulp and shell.

The nickname "Java almond" is a name casually given to the fruits of Canarium species members where their range includes maritime Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, and Northern Australia.

The largest buyers of pili nuts are in Hong Kong and Taiwan; the kernel is one of the major ingredients in one type of the famous Chinese festive desserts known as the "moon cake".