Hevea (Hevea benthamiana)

Family: Euphorbiaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Hevea or Hevea benthamiana is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing about 20 m in height. It is a tropical plant which can be found in Asia, Brazil, Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Valenzuela. The seeds are edible when cooked but poisonous when raw. It has to be boiled for 24 hrs due to its cyanide content. The tree yields a good quality, pure white later suitable for making rubber.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Fall, Late Summer

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Seed - cooked. Poisonous raw, the seeds are boiled for 24 hours, then the liquid is strained off. The mass that remains has somewhat the colour and consistency of rice that has been boiled a long time. — Poisonous raw, the seeds are boiled for 24 hours, then the liquid is strained off.; The mass that remains has somewhat the colour and consistency of rice that has been boiled a long time.; The seeds are commonly used by some native people, though other tribes view them only as famine foods when better foods are not available.

Habitat & North American Range

Low alluvial flood-sites and often-times growing in all year Mauritia-bogs. (Zone 10)