pequi

Noun

pequi (plural pequis)

1. Any of various trees of the genus Caryocar, a souari.
   • C. Brasiliénse[…] Native of Brazil in the provinces of St. Paul and Minas Geraes, where it is called by inhabitants Pequi. A small tree with a twisted stem.1836, George Don, A General History of the Dichlamydeous Plants, volume 1, page 654
   • The Kuikuru of the upper Xingu plants 15 morphotypes of pequi (Caryocar sp.) and recognizes two others: one being the forest “grand father” of all pequis and the other whose seeds are dispersed by animals2017, Manuela Carneiro da Cunha, “Traditional people, collectors of diversity”, in Marc Brightman, Jerome Lewis, editors, The Anthropology of Sustainability, page 266
2. The fruit of such trees, pequi nut.
   • When Seu Mariano was occupied, I could count on my next-door neighbor, Manuel Roberto, to tell me about the days when he traveled through the surrounding hills selling the pungent oil of the pequi nut (prized for the distinctive flavor it gives to an otherwise dry and largely tasteless mixture of...1986, Candace Slater, Trail of Miracles, page 10