Some Tagua Nut History.........

Tagua Nut (Philetelas Microcarpas), also called the Vegetable Ivory Nut, is the ivory alternative. The ivory nut is close grain and very heard. The cellular structure and grain is similar to that of elephant ivory, but is more dense and resilient. It resembles the finest ivory in texture and color.The tagua palm is a small understory tree of 20 to 30 feet that grows in damp areas of moist tropical forests from Panamá to Peru.

For over two hundred years vegetable tagua nut has been used by ivory carvers in the making of netsukes (Oriental miniature carvings), dice, dominoes, chess pieces, cane and umbrella handles, pipes, Mahjong tiles (Chinese solitaire game), sewing needle cases, and the fine art of scrimshaw (engraving pictures on bone or ivory). In the late eighteen hundreds up through World War II this ivory nut was used to make some of the finest buttons in the clothing industry.

Tagua nut is the valuable and highly sought after nut of a family of palm trees. It is said Mayans, Incas, Aztecs, and natives of south and Central America used the nut for emotional and spiritual health and well-being. The meat of the tagua nut has the strength and intelligence of an elephant, thus natives of South America call it vegetable ivory.

**Courtesy of Darhma Beads.**

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