Height of tree: Grows up to about 10 metres trunk of tree; grows crocked.

Suitable soil: Favoured by sandy soil. Parts used are leaves, bark, root, fruit and nuts.

Main property: Astringent with a trace of alkaloid found in the leaf. Bark contains a gum known as cashew gum. This is a mixture of what is known as true gum and bassorin.

The fruit shape of cashew resembles pear and the nut on top of the fruit resembles the kidney. This shape of the kidney is an indication of the healing virtue in cleansing the kidneys.

When unripe, the fruit’s taste is highly astringent, but when ripe, it still retains its astringent nature, but with sweet juicy taste.

The nut is contained in a tough leathery shell of two layers. It is rich in sugar and vitamins. In particular, vitamin C. The cashew fruit is a cleanser and a detoxifier of the whole body. It has a calming effect on the nerves of the body and strengthens the heart. A preparation of one bottle of the extracted juice of ripe cashew fruit and half a bottle of pure organic honey is food for the arteries of the heart and heart muscles. Take a shot of this mixture two times a day for about ten to fourteen days to lower the blood pressure.

Nature, as I continue to draw attention to from time-to-time, does not know of shortages or wastages. Any inadequacy or imbalance is the work of man. Therefore, nature continues to bless as with its abundance from season-to-season without any gap in its cupboard or storage! What a great love from God the father! This season, cashew is the abundance of nature we are been blessed with. In Lagos area alone, though, grown in far away places from here, the bright coloured fruit is seen all over the place inviting us to taste and nourish our bodies. How many of us answer this call of nature? The choices of what can be done with the different parts of cashew plant are given below.

May I seize this opportunity to draw attention of those who have the resources to tap into the idea of becoming "gentleman farmers". This means canning enterprises should be sited around plantations of essential cash crops such as cashew to be able to preserve most of these crops from decay due to excessive heat experienced in transporting them to various destinations. Those who have facilities to juice cashew at home should seize the opportunity of this season’s abundance of cashew to treat themselves to its varieties by adding honey to take the juice as a refreshing drink, either chilled or not. Cashew farming, harvesting and packaging is a very viable industry.

Below are details of the cashew plant:

1) Cashew nut - This is enclosed in a soft honey-combed mesocarp filled with caustic oil known as cashew nut shell oil. This shell oil has some local applications and is used for tattooing, to remove warts, to put in a carious tooth. Record has it that in India, this shell oil is painted on the boat and woodwork, books, etc. The oil of cashew nut contains 40 - 57 per cent oil and 20 per cent protein. The colour of the oil is clear yellow suitable for edible purposes.

2) The kernel - These are useful but must first be extracted by heart before removal. The nut inside the treated kernel is a delicacy. It has considerable export and import values. The export is to the Western world.

3) Mature leaves - These are rich in tannin. The leaves are used for their astringent properties.

Young leaves are used for dysentery, diarrhea, haemorrhoids.

4) The sap is taken for diarrhea in some culture. This expressed sap has to be mixed with some water before taking. A yellow dye is extracted from the leaves. This is made into a leaf decoction and usually used in drying fishing nets.

5) The bark - for toothache - the bark and leaf is boiled together or prepared as infusion to be used as gargle or used as mouth wash. This is also useful for sore gums.

6) Ogun efu (Yoruba) - The bark of cashew and Ira plus another leaf (Arasado) is boiled - decoction. Some alum is added to gargle or as mouth wash for Efu - thrush whitish tongue.

This same preparation is useful when a more serious ailment as blackish tongue when all else has failed.

The tincture or extract of the bark is used to lower blood sugar level within 15 minutes of ingestion and this situation will last for some hours.

Young leaves are eaten in South-East Asia.

For leprosy - The sap is used in the treatment. It is understood that this sap has some phsiological action in the treatment of this disease.

In Ghana, the Ga people use a preparation of the root with bark removed and boiled. This preparation is known as "odido" and is used as footbath for yaws on the soles.

For malaria, the leaves of cashew, neem, lemon grass and mango are boiled and taken as tea 3 cups a day for a week.

The flower is used by bees as nectar for honey production.

Briefly records have it that cashew plant was thought to have been brought to West Africa and naturalised here by the Caribbean Portuguese adventurers who dispersed it in the seventeenth century to Africa, India and the far East. The local names adapted from its Brazilian name - vernacular name "caju".