Editing Cashew (section)

==Description==

The cashew tree is large and [[evergreen]], growing to {{convert|14|m|ft|abbr=off}} tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk.<ref name="eb">{{cite web |date=7 April 2020 |title=Cashew |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/cashew |access-date=8 May 2021 |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> The [[leaves]] are spirally arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, {{convert|4-22|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} long and {{convert|2-15|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}}  broad, with smooth margins. The [[flower]]s are produced in a [[panicle]] or [[corymb]] up to {{convert|26|cm|abbr=on}} long; each flower is small, pale green at first, then turning reddish, with five slender, acute [[petal]]s {{convert|7-15|mm|sp=us|frac=8}} long. [[Cashew of Pirangi|The largest cashew tree in the world]] covers an area around {{convert|7500|m2|ft2|abbr=on}} and is located in [[Natal, Rio Grande do Norte|Natal]], [[Brazil]].{{cn|date=June 2023}}

The fruit of the cashew tree is an [[accessory fruit]] (sometimes called a pseudocarp or false fruit).<ref name=morton>{{cite book|url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/cashew_apple.html|title=Cashew apple, ''Anacardium occidentale'' L.; In: Fruits of Warm Climates|publisher=Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana |isbn=978-0-9610184-1-2|year=1987|author=Morton, Julia F.|author-link=Julia Morton|pages=239–240|access-date=18 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315023810/http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/index.html|archive-date=15 March 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cabi">{{cite web |title=''Anacardium occidentale'' (cashew nut) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/5064 |publisher=CABI |access-date=8 May 2021 |date=20 November 2019}}</ref> What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure, a [[hypocarpium]], that develops from the [[Pedicel (botany)|pedicel]] and the receptacle of the cashew flower.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Varghese |first1=T. |last2=Pundir |first2=Y. |year=1964 |title=Anatomy of the pseudocarp in ''Anacardium occidentale'' L. |journal=Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Section B |volume=59 |issue=5 |pages=252–258 |doi=10.1007/BF03052341 |s2cid=83230755}}</ref><ref name="duke">{{cite web |author1=James A Duke |title=''Anacardium occidentale'' L. |url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Anacardium_occidentale.html |publisher=Handbook of Energy Crops. (unpublished); In: NewCROP, New Crop Resource Online Program, Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Purdue University |access-date=10 December 2019 |date=1983}}</ref><ref name="eb" /> Called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as {{lang|es|marañón}}, it ripens into a yellow or red structure about {{convert|5–11|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long.<ref name="morton" /><ref name="duke" />

The true fruit of the cashew tree is a [[kidney]]-shaped or [[boxing glove]]-shaped [[drupe]] that grows at the end of the cashew apple.<ref name="morton" /> The drupe first develops on the tree and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple.<ref name="morton" /> The drupe becomes the true fruit, a single [[Nutshell|shell]]-encased [[seed]], which is often considered a [[Nut (fruit)|nut]] in the culinary sense.<ref name="morton" /><ref name="duke" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kapinga |first1=F. A. |last2=Kasuga |first2=L. J. F. |last3=Kafiriti |first3=E. M. |title=Growth and production of cashew nut |url=https://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C10/E1-05A-45.pdf |access-date=9 April 2021 |website=Soils, Plant Growth and Crop Production |publisher=Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems}}</ref> The seed is surrounded by a double-shell that contains an allergenic [[natural phenol|phenolic]] resin,<ref name="duke" /> [[anacardic acid]] - which is a potent skin [[Irritation|irritant]]<ref name="eb" /> chemically related to the better-known and also [[toxin|toxic]] allergenic oil [[urushiol]], which is found in the related [[poison ivy (plant)|poison ivy]] and [[lacquer tree]].

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Anacardium occidentale - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-010.jpg|Botanical illustration
|Cajueiro Meconta.jpg|Tree in [[Mozambique]], southeastern Africa
|Anacardium occidental (Bangla - কাজুবাদাম).jpg|Trunk in [[Bangladesh]]
|Cashew Flower.JPG|Flowers|
Pollen grains of Cashew tree.jpg|Pollen grains of Cashew tree
|Young cashew nuts.jpg|Young fruits
|Cashew fruit.jpg|Fruits sold as produce
}}