Macadamia Nut Oil

• Gained from the ripe seeds of Macadamia integrifolia which are agricultured for the manufacture of edible nuts.
• Macadamia integrifolia is the variety of Macadamia which is commercially most important.
• The INCI – mentioned Macadamia tetraphylla or –ternifolia are commercially not relevant.
• The Macadamia nut is also known as the ‘Queensland nut’.
• As this name suggests, it is native to Australia, where it is a staple dietary component for Aboriginal peoples.
• The Macadamia nut was first cultivated in 1930, in Hawaii, since which time it has become the only plant of Australian origin to acquire commercial significance.
• Nowadays, these trees, which came originally from an area extending from Queensland to New South Wales and which grow to a height of 15 m, producing 8-15 ovaries per raceme, are cultivated all around the world and the (expensive) nuts are on sale everywhere.
• Major centers for cultivation are Australia, South Africa and the American state of Hawaii.