Nuts
Wild Karuka and another pandanus fruit species
The Pandanaceae botanical family comprises following six species in Papua New Guinea: ‘Karuka’ and ‘Marita’ were already discussed at this website in two former articles. ‘Karuka’, see here, and ‘Marita’ see there. In the following, ‘Wild Karuka’ and Pandanus antaresensis…
Karuka – cultivated pandanus fruits and nuts
Tok Pisin: Karuka Scientific name: Pandanus jiulianettii Two species of pandanus are commonly used for the nuts that are eaten. They are Karuka (Pandanus jiulianettii Martelli) and wild Karuka (Pandanus brosimos Merr & Perry). At least 3 other species of…
Swiss pine cones and their uses
The Swiss pine (Pinus cembra), goes by different names in German-speaking countries, such as ‘Zirbe,’ ‘Arve,’ ‘Arolla pine,’ or ‘Austrian stone pine.’ For generations, people have used the nuts of this particular pine species as food during the winter months,…
Manketti (or: Mongongo) nuts
Manketti nuts are staple food for a variety of people within its distribution range. And there is a strict division of naming them. Khoi-san people (Bushmen) are calling them ‘Manketti’, whereas Kavango people (Bantus) call them ‘Mongongo’. Both names denominate…